We acknowledge the Traditional Owners/Custodians of the lands and waters on which we work and live on across Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We are committed to collaboration that furthers self-determination and creates a better future for all. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website contains images and names of deceased persons.

The Australian Centre for Social Innovation

We work with: Communities

We support community members and community organisations to strengthen capability for influencing and leading local change.

We work with: Communities

Powering community-led change

We help communities move from being solely consulted to being an active part of leading the change, empowering them to be able to tackle local issues. We provide the tools, coaching, and frameworks to help you mobilise local wisdom and tackle the issues that matter most to you, and your community.

Talk to us about:

  • Training community leaders in co-design and systemic thinking
  • Building solutions that are uniquely suited to local contexts, culture, and history
  • Building the evidence and the narrative needed to influence government policy and funding
  • Setting up low-cost, high-impact models where people with lived experience are empowered to help others in similar situations
  • Strengthen your and your community’s innovation capability
  • Developing approaches to collaborative governance
  • First Nations thinking and cultural wisdom

Our experience

Our work in communities focuses on shifting power and building local resilience. Recent projects include:


Collage of photos of people and gradients.

Featured case study:

Rethinking how communities thrive

Context: Backed by seed funding from the Paul Ramsay Foundation, we initiated a national network to rethink how communities thrive.

Scale: A three-year foundational investment to build the “imagination Infrastructure” Australia needs to navigate 21st-century challenges.

The work: Establishing the Future of Community and Future of Childhood networks, connecting over 200 diverse stakeholders to co-design fairer futures.

The outcome: Successfully catalysed a national conversation on “Just Futuring,” leading to a pipeline of five major social R&D initiatives now seeking co-investment.

Let’s lead the change from the ground up

Whether you’re a local community leader looking to build your community’s capability or a group ready to design a community-led solution, we’re ready to help you influence the systems that matter most to you.

We also work with

Commonwealth and state government

Commonwealth and state government

We have deep and broad experience working within the unique constraints and opportunities of government.

Learn more
Philanthropy

Philanthropy

We partner with philanthropic foundations on bold and future-focused projects, initiatives and strategies that centre innovation, lived expertise and outcomes for future generations.

Learn more
Primary Healthcare Networks (PHNs)

Primary Healthcare Networks (PHNs)

We work as strategic partners with PHNs across Australia, bringing social innovation practices to every stage of the commissioning cycle, with the goal to improve local healthcare outcomes.

Learn more
Not-for-profits and service providers

Not-for-profits and service providers

From ideas to implementation, we work alongside not-for-profit organisations to build the conditions for innovation and lived experience inclusion to thrive.

Learn more
Specialist partnerships

Specialist partnerships

We partner with values-aligned researchers and specialists agencies to enable them to use social innovation practices and examples/case studies in their work.

Learn more
Commonwealth and state government

Commonwealth and state government

We have deep and broad experience working within the unique constraints and opportunities of government.

Learn more
Philanthropy

Philanthropy

We partner with philanthropic foundations on bold and future-focused projects, initiatives and strategies that centre innovation, lived expertise and outcomes for future generations.

Learn more
Primary Healthcare Networks (PHNs)

Primary Healthcare Networks (PHNs)

We work as strategic partners with PHNs across Australia, bringing social innovation practices to every stage of the commissioning cycle, with the goal to improve local healthcare outcomes.

Learn more
Not-for-profits and service providers

Not-for-profits and service providers

From ideas to implementation, we work alongside not-for-profit organisations to build the conditions for innovation and lived experience inclusion to thrive.

Learn more
Specialist partnerships

Specialist partnerships

We partner with values-aligned researchers and specialists agencies to enable them to use social innovation practices and examples/case studies in their work.

Learn more

TACSI Learning
Hub

Deepen your and your community’s skills and understanding of social innovation – and your confidence to put it into practice. We run short and long courses for all skill levels in areas including: co-design, coproduction, allyship and working in systems.