Collective impact: Cairns South
In late 2016 Cairns South and Yarrabah Communities for Children Facilitating Partner kick-started a CI project (the ‘Project’) within Cairns South. There was widespread agreement amongst relevant agencies and others for the need to come together to jointly plan and align their efforts in order to better address complex issues affecting the development of 0 12-year olds in Cairns South. The Cairns South population is expected to almost double by 2036, which also provided impetus for commencing work on CI in this location.
The Project brings together representatives from government, community and service organisations, and a wide range of service providers to focus on this particular social issue. It aims to support the Early Years sector (those working with 0 to 12-year olds in Cairns South) to lead the development of a detailed child development 'agenda' and to establish long-term system improvements that will increase support and enhance outcomes for children and their families in Cairns South.
The Project was initially informed by the State of the Children 2016: Children and Young People in the Cairns Southern Corridor. The report, commissioned by Mission Australia, aims to provide a snapshot in time of the state of children and young people 0 to 19 years of age living in Cairns South and Yarrabah. It established a baseline for work to be carried out by the Project, including measurement of our progress over time and the setting of priorities for change. The report will be updated in 2019.
How is JCU involved?
The Cairns Institute (TCI) based at James Cook University has partnered the Early Years sector in this long term and strategic approach (the backbone organisation). In particular, The Cairns Institute is providing significant support to the CI Project through the Project Lead of Allan Dale, Senior Researcher Fiona Allison, Project Manager Jennifer McHugh, and TCI Director Stewart Lockie.
A primary task of the Project has been to establish a backbone organisation to support a local CI approach in the medium to long term. The Project team helps with overall strategic coherence of the initiative and coordinates and manages key aspects of its planning and implementation, including stakeholder engagement, communications, and data collection and analysis, while supporting the CI framework.