CREATE Project Bulletin – May 31, 2018

May 31, 2018

CREATE Project Bulletin – May 31st, 2018

Welcome to the second CREATE Project Bulletin. This bulletin aims to provide an overview of recent project
developments.

This bulletin will be posted as a blog on the Project Management Portal. Please log into your secure account (using
your username and password that were sent some months ago) to view and comment:
https://www.creatingpathways.org.au/project‐management/project‐management‐portal.

We are also offering a Q&A teleconference for anyone interested in continuing the conversation, at 12noon on
Tuesday June 19th: Call 07 373 59777 (Meeting Number: 990 901 334#)

Please feel free to distribute this Bulletin to individuals within your organisation who are interested in the project,
and please invite them to call in for the Q&A on the 19th of June.

SUCCESS WITH THE AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL – AND BEYOND?
ROSS HOMEL

ARC Success and what this means:

A couple of weeks ago we were delighted to learn we had been successful with our application to the Australian
Research Council (ARC) for the funding of Phase 3 of the CREATE Project, through the Linkage Scheme. Even more delightful was the news that the ARC awarded us our full budget at the very top of what is permitted under the scheme: nearly $300,000 for each of the two years of the project. This success reflects a number of things:

• The quality and depth of commitment of the project’s partner organisations, with both cash and substantial
  in‐kind support, especially through the funding of CIFs by our partner NGO Facilitating Partners for a further
  year;
• The quality of the interdisciplinary research team, combining skills in education, criminology, statistics and
  data analytics, economics, developmental psychology, and organisational psychology;
• The boldness of the project’s aims, combined with a rigorous methodology for achieving them.

This funding success means that we can move ahead through all the stages of the Create Change Engine, moving
from Deciding Together to Planning Together during early 2019, and then to Doing Together and Reviewing Together later in 2019 and in 2020. We hope that all Collaboration Agreements will be signed by the end of this year, so that we can access the new funding early in 2019. We also know that CfC funding officially concludes in June 2019, and although we all hope that CfC will be extended (perhaps in modified form), we need to be flexible as a project team to adapt to the future shape of community‐based service delivery.

 

What happens after 2020?

The significance of the CREATE Project goes well beyond our current work. There is very keen interest internationally in the development of a prevention infrastructure (in our case, both human and electronic) that can “support a focus on results and sustain the application of effective strategies while saturating a jurisdiction with multiple evidence based programs …”

In fact the words in quotes in the previous sentence are from an influential paper by Patrick McCarthy and Ben
Kerman written in 2010: Inside the belly of the beast: How bad systems trump good programs. Patrick McCarthy is
the President of the Annie E. Casey Foundation in the US, one of the largest funders of community‐based initiatives
to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children and youth. This week I have the privilege of attending the annual
meeting of the Society for Prevention Research in Washington DC, and will meet one‐on‐one with Dr McCarthy, who is participating in a symposium at the conference, to elicit his reactions to plans we are developing for a national prevention science infrastructure centre in Australia.

The idea of this centre is that it could put the kind of researcher‐policy‐practitioner partnerships we are seeking to
develop in the CREATE Project onto a larger and more sustainable foundation, while extending and deepening the
electronic and human infrastructure that makes possible the adoption of data‐driven and research‐informed
practices by coalitions of schools, community agencies, parents and other ‘consumers.’ We are optimistic that this
proposal will gain traction throughout 2018, and that it could attract funding that would allow it to begin operations in late 2020. Watch this space!

 

PRACTICAL MATTERS – STAFFING, CIF REFLECTIVE WORKSHOP AND PROJECT PARTNER MEETING

Project Management: Changes of personnel within the project (Andrew DeAmbrosis and the Alex [Project Officer]
leaving) has left a gap in our ability to manage the project especially as we move into the Deciding Together phase
and the data collection required. As a consequence, we have had to readjust the original design (e.g., we will no
longer be collecting behavioural rating data from schools, and have reduced the number of schools we will be
approaching requesting information about program’s they run related to wellbeing) and added project  management duties to the tasks Sara Branch will perform. It was always envisioned that Sara would move into a project management role in the second year of the ARC project, however, personnel changes have resulted in her taking up these duties at this time.

This will mean subtle changes to the way Sara communicates with the CIFs. For instance, the monthly Bulletin and
Q&A will replace the regular CIF Update that Sara had previously provided to CIFs.

Sara taking on project management duties will not change her current support for CIFs. She will continue to:

• Organise and facilitate 3 monthly learning workshops (based on the CIF reflective journal process) with CIFs
• Organise and facilitate training with CIFs when required
• Train new CIFs as they come on board
• Be available to CIFs as they require support or have questions

In addition to these duties Sara will also take on a range of project management tasks including supporting the
governance of the project (e.g., assist in the development of a project plans and coordination of meetings) as well as
data collection. In particular, her support of the roll out of Rumble’s Quest will be the main focus of Sara’s time over the second half of the year (dependent on approvals from the Departments of Education).

CIF Reflective Workshop, June 18, 2018: Over the past couple of months a working party of CIFs (supported by Sara) have been meeting to advance the idea of regularly meeting to review what we are learning about CIF Role. On the 18th of June CIFs, NGO Representatives and members of the research team will meet in Sydney at The Salvation Army in Redfern. At this workshop attendees will:

• review the reflective journal process and make adjustments where needed;
• welcome and farewell CIFs;
• plan the next couple of CIF gatherings;
• review and reflect on what we have learnt so far about CIF practice;
• plan any training arising out of this discussion; and
• discuss Rumble’s Quest and how it fits within the Deciding Together stage of the CREATE Change Engine
  Cycle and the CIF Role.

Charmaine Stubbs (CIF‐Logan) will co‐facilitate the day with Sara Branch. We would like to thank The Salvation Army for hosting this workshop and Charmaine for agreeing to co‐facilitate.

Face‐to Face Plenary Project Meeting, Sydney, June 28, 2018: At the CEOC last week it was confirmed that the plenary meeting canvased for June 28th (10am to 4.30pm) will be going ahead. This strategic planning meeting is intended to facilitate a smooth transition from Phase 2 (Coming Together and Deciding Together) to the ARC‐funded Phase 3 (Planning Together, Doing Together, and Reviewing Together). Karen Russell, who guided us in our initial meeting in February, 2017, will facilitate this day, so we are in good hands.

The purpose of this meeting is for all project partner representatives to review project governance processes, and
engage in planning for Phase 3. The NSW Department of Education has kindly offered to host this meeting. Further
details about the meeting, will be forwarded in due course to those attending.

RESOURCE UPDATE – COMING TOGETHER MODULE
KATE FREIBERG

Program Mangers may have noticed a recent change to the landing page of their User Dashboard on the Creating
Pathways Community Coalition Portal: The Coming Together Module has been migrated to the dashboard.

→ The content of this module provides a framework for using the Coalition Wellbeing Survey (CWBS) as part of a continuous learning cycle to support the ongoing empowerment of the CfC‘s collaborative efforts. At its
most basic level, the module facilitates the processes of CWBS data collection and report generation. But
more importantly, the module is offered in the spirit of a virtual community of practice. It can be used by
coalition leadership teams as a source of ideas to support their use of their data to trigger positive action,
emphasise processes that yield strong partnership, and maintain the CfC as a growth zone.The module itself
will continue to evolve with time and use.

→ A new filtering feature has also been added to the CWBS report generator to help Program Managers
explore variations in the experience of different member groups within their coalition. The new feature
allows a greater level of refinement in reporting, but does not compromise participant confidentiality.
Respondent protection is maintained by a built‐in block on filtering groups with three or less members.

 

FAMILY‐SCHOOL‐COMMUNITY PROJECT
GREER JOHNSON

Families, schools and communities working together is critical in supporting children to make their way in the world now and in the future. Unless schools have a strengths‐based approach that acknowledges the funds of knowledge within families and communities, families will continue to disengage from school. Principals are pivotal in shifting staff mind‐sets and building relationships with families and community The family‐school‐community engagement component is an integral part of the CREATE‐ing Pathways project being conducted by Professor Greer Johnson and Associate Professor Bev Flückiger. This component involves a place based action‐learning project comprising 200 school principals working with their staff, families and community over the course of 12 months, beginning in 2019.

The action‐learning project consists of five stages supported by on‐line professional learning materials to assist in the design, implementation and evaluation of work undertaken in an area of school priority. This work builds capability in the area of family‐school‐community relationships that are already core business in schools. It will be up to schools to allocate appropriate time and resources to the project. Representatives from schools, families and
communities will have the opportunity to collaborate with others in six, one‐hour webinars throughout the project.
These webinars, hosted by the researchers, will be recorded to form part of a data set for analysis of the processes
undertaken in schools so that other schools might benefit also.

Principals involved in the action‐learning project will also complete a 15‐minute survey (25 items) before and after
the conduct of the action‐learning project, providing important data about their perspectives on building familyschool‐community engagement to enhance children’s learning. The pre‐ post‐post survey will enable the CREATE‐ing pathways team to report on any changes to family‐school‐community relationships.

The research team will work with Partners within the CREATE project (include the Australian Department of Social
Service, NSW and Queensland Departments of Education and Community Services, the Australian Primary Principals’ Association, and four Non‐Government Organisations who deliver services to children and their families throughout Australia: Mission Australia, the Benevolent Society, the Salvation Army, and the Smith Family) to ensure that relationships between schools, families and communities are strengthened through the concepts and practices of collective impact.

The overarching aim of this component of the CREAT‐ing Pathways work is for school Principals, families and
community representatives to collaborate to build sustainable family/school relationships and shared leadership
that supports children’s learning and wellbeing. Unless schools have a strengths‐based approach that acknowledges
the funds of knowledge within families and communities, families will continue to disengage from school. Greer and Bev have much experience and expertise from working with Principals and communities that can support positive relationships and build ongoing capability for the families, schools and community to work together. Families and community are engaged in school when there are trusting and respectful relationships and there are opportunities to share leadership and decision‐making on matters related to the learning and teaching of their children. It helps when there are designated members of community who can advocate for families and community in schools; and advocate for the school with families and community.

 

CIF FEATURE – THE SALVATION ARMY
CHARMAINE STUBBS

Charmaine Stubbs has been with the Salvation Army Communities for Children team for over 7 years in various roles including Project Development, The Family Place Centre Manager and most recently as a Collective Impact Facilitator with the Griffith University CREATE Project. Charmaine has qualifications in community development, early childhood education, partnership brokering and community engagement (IAP2). Charmaine has previously worked in local government in community and social planning, community development and community engagement roles.

The CIF role and CREATE Framework has added another dimension to Charmaine’s existing skill set and she is very grateful for the support of Sara, the CREATE team and the CIF community for sharing their knowledge and expertise.

From July 1 Charmaine will be moving into a full time CIF role within The Salvation Army and will be leaving the
CREATE Project. Her new role will help to strengthen and further develop the partnership capacities of Salvation
Army leaders; introduce prevention science principles and collective impact approaches; and support teams through the Australia 1 change process within The Salvation Army. Charmaine considers herself very blessed to have been part of a CfC FP team that has advanced capabilities in the collective impact space. They have been a driving force in the development of the Logan Together project and in working within The Salvation Army to advance the understanding of Collective Impact approaches. The CfC FP Manager Debbie Miscamble has been visionary in her leadership and approach to developing the skills of the CfC FP team, she has supported all staff to attend CIF training, with Holly Rynsent and Elise Parker being the final two to engage in the training. The CREATE principles and ongoing shared learnings will be embedded into everyday practice as they support their Community Partners and CfC Committee to come together, plan, implement and evaluate their programs and approaches. Holly, Elise and Penny will share the role of The Salvation Army CfC CIF and will contribute to the fortnightly/monthly reflective journal as a team, other tasks will be shared according to the expertise of the team member or the space they are working in, i.e schools when Rumbles Quest is rolled out. Here is a very brief introduction to our newest CIFs.

Holly Rynsent has been working as a Community Development Worker in The Salvation Army CfC Team for the last years. Holly has a degree in Social Science and a Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling. Holly has a keen interest in the use of animals in therapeutic interventions with people via Animal Assisted Therapy and working with communities to mobilise their skills, strengths and talents for a common goal. One of Holly’s main focuses in working in the Springwood/Kingston and the Browns Plains areas, is to build connection between early education and care centres, schools, support services and families. In her spare time Holly enjoys taking her dogs to the beach, spending time outdoors and watching nature documentaries.

Elise Parker has worked in a range of intensive family support roles before taking up a position as one of our
Community Development Workers. Elise has a degree in Psychology and an interest in childhood trauma and
recovery, and building transdisciplinary practice in the community services sector. One of Elise’s main focuses is
working across the Eagleby/Beenleigh area using creative and fun ways to connect families and services across
Logan. In her spare time Elise enjoys spending time by the beach and indulging in a nice cup of coffee (or two). Elise and the rest of the CfC team work closely together alongside many other stakeholders in the Logan community to co‐design, co‐create and co‐implement a range of soft entry, early intervention and prevention projects to improve health and well‐being outcomes for children aged 0‐12 years and their families.

Penny Goodall joined the CfC team as a Community Development Worker in July 2017 after 15 years in leadership roles in the Department of Human Services (Centrelink) and Children’s Health Queensland. Penny’s role is particularly focused on the early years for children from birth to the first years at school and is proud to be part of a number of initiatives under the Logan Together banner. Penny is absolutely passionate about working early with children and families so that our little people get off to the best possible start in life. Her desire is to see families supported, with children happy and strong, doing well at school and even eventually gaining employment. When Penny is not hard at work, she loves being with her family, especially having adventures with her three grandsons.

She also loves good coffee, singing and making music.

THE DATA LINKAGE PROJECT IN LOGAN

Logan is the focus of intensive efforts by many organisations, governments, and community members. One
important ‘sub‐project’ in the overall CREATE project that is taking place in Logan is to develop and test for feasibility a methodology for linking, at the individual (de‐identified) level, child outcomes data through schools with child service participation data derived from the CfC Data Exchange System (DEX) as well as from other sources such as schools and state government‐funded intensive family support services. The data linkage research team, led by Dr Jacqueline Homel, has been gradually working through a range of technical and organisational challenges, and is at the point where an ethics application through the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Human Research Ethics Application system can be prepared. This will take about six months, allowing for the implementation of the method in 2019.

The significance of this data linkage methodology, if it can be shown to be feasible and ethical, is that it would
constitute a very powerful tool for rigorously evaluating the impact of place‐based collaborative interventions on
child wellbeing, educational attainment, and behaviour. If successful, this methodology could well be adopted as
standard in future iterations of programs like Communities for Children.

WHAT’S BEEN ADDED TO THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT PORTAL IN MAY

Project Governance

• CREATE Executive Oversight Committee (CEOC)
  • May 24th Meeting Agenda and attachments – posted 18‐5‐18

CIF Role

• Updates to CIFs
  • Update to CIFs ‐ Weeks from 14‐5‐18 to the 25‐5‐18 – posted 28‐5‐18
  • Update to CIFs ‐ Weeks from 30‐4‐18 to the 11‐5‐18 – posted 14‐5‐18

Project Updates

• Change of Sara Branch’s Role – posted 11‐5‐18

Items of Interest

• Full ARC Linkage Application – Submitted October 2017 – posted 23‐5‐18
• Coming Together Module Preview

Communications

• CREATE Project Bulletin – April 30, 2018 – posted 3‐5‐18

Please go to the Project Management Portal to view these documents. All project partner representatives and CIFs
have access to view these documents. To access the portal:  https://www.creatingpathways.org.au/projectmanagement/
project‐management‐portal

Category: Project Newsletter

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