Our experience
We’ve spent 15 years partnering with government at all levels, philanthropy, PHNs, service providers and communities to develop social innovation practices that promote imagination, systemic awareness, and supports people at the margins to have real influence over their future.
In that time we’ve supported thousands of people, and seen firsthand how social innovation can shift systems, unlock potential, and create lasting change.
Why we exist
Current approaches to commissioning, policy development, innovation and reform have made limited progress on our most persistent social challenges. Across Australia, too many public systems are stuck in a loop: fail → review → reform → repeat. These loops aren’t just frustrating — they’re failing people.
What’s more, the challenges of our time — the cost of living, extreme weather, climate change, the housing crisis, social fragmentation, the mental health crisis, AI, technology acceleration, the rise of extremism — all demand we rethink how we live and how our public systems operate.
Navigating these challenges takes working with complexity and creativity in collaborative ways, and with a deep understanding of the human experience - especially the people marginalised by existing systems. These are exactly the things social innovation does well.
Our ambition
Our ambition at The Australian Centre for Social Innovation is to see the widespread adoption of social innovation - so we can better navigate the complexities of the 21st century and create a future where everyone thrive.
We want to see social innovation practices woven through:
Australian public systems, as the default approach to reform and as part of reliable systems of social R&D
Australian communities, so communities can lead innovative local change
Australian society, so we face the future with a rich sense of possibility
This ambition stands in contrast to how things typically work in Australia today where, when it comes to social purpose issues:
Our social R&D systems are roughly 100 years behind the R&D systems we’ve built in agriculture, pharmaceuticals and other industries.
Few community members, for-purpose leaders and politicians benefit from training in effective social innovation practice - despite working on complex social reform and change day to day.
There are few resources and opportunities to think creatively about how we face the great challenges of the 21st Century and experiment our way through them.
As a result Australia’s ability to tackle complex social problems is underdeveloped and we are working on changing that.
We weave First Nations perspectives through everything we do
We’re committed to furthering self determination through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander led innovation, and to working with Indigenous Systems Knowledge to tackle complex problems.
What is social innovation?
Action in solidarity with First Nations peoples to centre Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices and cultures.
Building local capability and infrastructure so communities can lead their own change.
Designing services that connect people with shared life experience to create meaningful change.
Collaboratively designing services and policies by combining lived, research and practice expertise.
Working with Indigenous ways of knowing to address systemic challenges that affect us all.
Transforming complex systems through collaboration that centres diverse and lived perspectives.
Connecting changemakers through shared purpose, deep relationships and aligned systemic action.
Creating reliable systems for continuous, effective social purpose innovation.
Catalysing action for fairer futures by connecting diverse knowledge, people and possibilities.
Imagine if…
We were making good progress on our toughest social policy issues because we’d build systems for social R&D that reliably delivered results.
Imagine if we all had the opportunity to learn social innovation so that we are better equipped to lead innovation and reform in our communities and public systems.
Imagine if there was a national institution focussed on long term change - set up to help us all think creatively about creating a more just future and fund experimentation towards that future.
Our dream initiatives and collaborations
Major initiatives seeking investment that would lead to a fundamental-change in Australia's capability to tackle complex social challenges
Our team
Our team brings together diverse minds and experiences, bound by a shared commitment to relational working, lifelong learning, social innovation, and meaningful impact
We work across Australia with offices in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
Our history
Originally an initiative of the South Australian government TACSI was founded in 2009 as an institution with the goal to “support and orchestrate practical social innovation, a creator of new organisations and projects but also as a centre for knowledge and learning”.
Over 15 years we’ve continued to evolve our approach to contributing to better lives.
In the past our work has included
Running national social innovation challenges
Hosting national festivals and speaker tours on social innovation
Adapting overseas models for Australia
Incubating the start-up and scale of innovative services models
Today TACSI is a self-sustaining social enterprise working across Australia to mainstream social innovation practices through
Capability building.
Consulting.
Long-term systems initiatives.
Storytelling.
Our impact
The impact of our work includes
The national and international take-up of at least 15 effective co-designed service models in areas including youth employment, child protection and domestic and family violence.
The co-design of over 15 state and commonwealth policies in areas including ageing, housing, Aboriginal justice, mental health and disability.
The reshaping of at least $75m of philanthropic investments to focus on social innovation
The development and sharing of new knowledge including the first Australia specific papers, learning experiences and resources on Philanthropy and systems change, peer-to-peer, Impact Networks and Social R&D.