DRIVING COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY ACTION IN KENSINGTON
SOcial Impact Advisory & Strategy • Engagement & COMMUNICATIONS design • FACILITATION
During 2014-2016, Amplifier’s Steven Weir successfully utilised a community development framework known as ‘Collective Impact’ on behalf of the City of Melbourne to support more collaborative, resource efficient community development in the suburb of Kensington.
Using both community engagement and community development principles, he initially worked to analyse the local policy environment and to map existing internal and external projects and community assets, with a strong emphasis on people and organisations.
Forging relationships with internal teams was another early step, with a deep focus on the colleagues who were delivering place-based initiatives such as master plans and local infrastructure - all helping to build a more cohesive neighbourhood-based narrative for the organisation.
Steven then worked with key local key stakeholders – such as the Department of Families, Fairness & Housing, Unison Housing, the local neighbourhood house, children’s and youth focused services and the local business precinct association – to form a new neighbourhood network, initially facilitated through his role.
The network then agreed on a common agenda to create positive social impact for the neighbourhood over the next two years, which focused on tackling three core issues/opportunities (food security, engaging children and young people and supporting more opportunities for community infrastructure locally). They met regularly to share learnings, seek additional support, report back on achievements and to discuss ways to continually improve communication and engagement.
The Kensington Community Network is still going strong, with the group now supporting collaborative projects to support Reconciliation action, COVID-19 lockdown and recovery responses and a new community hub embedded with a local primary school to help connect families from diverse cultural backgrounds with the wider community.
