Project examples

Strategy

Localisation

Helen Keller International | Global

I am advising the direction, draft documentation including a landscape analysis and facilitating the Helen Keller working group through a series of structured discussions and workshops to achieve to define and operationalize the organisations approach to locally-led development. This critical initiative will inform the 3-year and 10-year strategic planning process and shape operations across multiple domains.

Socio-technical engineering and skills development

Engineers without Borders, Australia | Australia

 As CEO at Engineers without Borders Australia, I led the development of a ten-year 2030 strategy, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Based on consultation with the EWB network including board, staff, donors, community members, academic, industry and community partners, the strategy, associated impact framework and strategic architecture, led to focused programs, delivering engineering results with communities in remote Australia, Vanuatu, Cambodia and Timor-Leste and socio-technical skills development for current and future engineers.

A Place-Based Approach

Outer Gippsland Leadership Alliance | Yarram and Outer Gippsland, Victoria

I facilitated a place-based approach to community-led change by reviewing an existing collaboration of services and government departments. I provided an engagement plan to mobilise community, engage local influencers and a framework of activities to build trust, leverage community assets and improve opportunities for young people.

Children and Youth: Country Strategy

ChildFund International | Sri Lanka

I delivered a five-year strategic plan for the ChildFund Sri Lanka office. The robust and measurable strategic plan was achieved using a participatory, strengths-based approach analysing the country’s operating environment, the future of funding and the unmet challenges that communities were facing.

Pathways were identified to achieve community results and systems change over the next five years. The strategic plan included a funding map, monitoring and evaluation framework and human resourcing plan aligned to strategic priorities.

Organisational Strengthening

 Mentoring

Mentoring leaders, especially women, in navigating organisational development, strategic growth and culture. Currently:

  • a first time CEO of a regional womens network, based in Asia.
  • An experienced Business Development leader, starting a new role in a small, founder led for-purpose organisation.

Organisational Change Management:

ChildFund International |Sri Lanka

On completion of the five-year plan, I developed a business plan that aligned organisational staffing and salary structures to meet global organisational and country-level standards, whilst provide mechanisms to improve organisational culture, risk management and gender and ethnic inclusion.

Emergency Recovery

Engineers Without Borders, Australia | Australia and Timor-Leste

I established EWBs capability to lead emergency recovery work in Australia and in the region, mobilising the technical sectors to deliver pro bono and volunteer support, responding to unmet community needs.

  • Dili Water Supply Emergency Recovery Program (DWSERP): Established the consortium, delivered the concept note, supported the boards risk planning and built the program team so that EWB were lead contractors on the DFAT funded project to rebuild two of Dili’s water transmission pipelines, after a cyclone washed them away in 2021.
  • Northern Rivers Flood Response: Coordinated the partnership, supported the development of the roster system and mentored staff to build EWBs capacity to mobilise engineering expertise to 100 rural households, after the devastating floods of 2022.

Organisational Development on the Thai Burma Border

Australian Volunteers International (AVI) partnering with AusAID, DFAT and Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC)

Focused on strengthening governance, compliance and management skills of local governance bodies and camp committees. This work included identifying organisational capability assessments. Coordinated resourcing and technical support resulting in improved communications, transparency and governance structures reported from camp councils and the Thai Burma Border Consortium.

Program Integrity

First Nations Allyship

Over 6 years with EWB, I worked alongside our first nations board members, advisory group and community partners to double down on the commitment to supporting self-determination and plans to live and thrive on country.

  • The Engineering Outreach program was refocused to deliver Australia’s only indigenous-led engineering outreach program, designed and delivered by Australian First Nations engineers and technical sector professionals, in remote communities and schools.
  • Engaged industry partners and community to jointly develop a program that is delivering water systems and build capability in water quality testing, to address the inequity of clean water access in remote communities.

Facilitation

Engineers Without Borders International Global Summit | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Led the design and facilitation of a 3 day co-design workshop with representatives from 28 EWB organisations in Kuala Lumpur to codesign:

  • A Global Identity: Strengthened a shared purpose, identified the benefits of a shared global EWB brand, and initiated the creation of a unified charter.
  • Activation of the Network: Built trust, shared organizational strengths, and identified opportunities for collaborative influence.
  • Shared Action Planning: Participants developed achievable plans for 1-2 years to ensure momentum and collaboration.

Collective Impact: Clarifying a shared goal

Communities for Children (CfC), Mallee Family Care and Department of Social Services (DSS) | Swan Hill and Robinvale, Victoria, Australia

To deepen community engagement, refocused the CfC Collective towards where the urgency and commitment for change lies. Provided expertise on positive change management to empower the CfC collective to create the most meaningful change for children and young people in Robinvale and Swan Hill.

Collective Impact: Re-aligning the governance structure

Prior to the Clarifying a Shared Goal project, worked with the governance leaders to build a common understanding of the group’s purpose and vision to strengthen outcomes for children over the next five years. This project also clarified important next steps to maintaining momentum for organisational strengthening.

TOGETHER Sri Lanka (disability inclusion)

ChildFund International in partnership with ChildFund Germany, BMZ, European Union. | Sri Lanka

Delivered program mechanisms to include children with disabilities into programs for children in Sri Lanka led by an advisory group of people with disabilities. Oversaw the first research report into children with disabilities in the post-conflict north and delivered a program to identify and triage government services which diagnose and respond appropriately. 

Community and Civic Engagement

RMIT University | Melbourne, Australia

Advised on RMIT’s new Community and Civic Engagement post-graduate course, including delivering interactive workshops on Collaboration and Collective Impact.