New foundations for social change

Despite the efforts of well-intentioned professionals, activists, civic leaders and citizens, the needle is barely shifting on major social issues. But through new responses from challenged urban and regional centres we’re learning more about the power of “place” to create networks that connect the structural, institutional and social elements of sustainable progress.

A hemisphere apart North Camden in London and Dandenong in southern Melbourne are grappling with different but equally challenging socio-economic problems. In North Camden more than one-third of children grow up below the poverty line. In Dandenong there are 20,000 people looking for work, yet local employers struggle to fill job vacancies. Both are now experimenting with new ways to respond. Through these and similar cases Indy Johar and TACSI will show how multi-actor, systems innovation approaches at the local level are generating a shared understanding, coordinating fragmented resources, and building dynamic responses that help communities keep pace with the challenges they face.