About Us
As the national centre for social innovation we are passionate about uncovering new and better ways to create social good.
From systems innovation through to unlocking the assets and potential of our communities – we are determined to move social innovation from the margins to a national priority.
There is no organisation or group of individuals who can drive this alone. We must build the conditions and capability for social innovation to happen at scale.
At the heart of TACSI lies the fundamental belief that people are the experts in their own lives. We believe that the best innovations come from working alongside the people who face the very challenges we’re trying to solve.
Innovation is not the end game. Our ambition is people living their best life and having every opportunity to reach their potential.
Who we are
We’re a team of multiple disciplines working across Australia. Over the past three years we’ve been experimenting with different ways of working which has led us to become a network of small teams that are self- managed, geared towards service and, most importantly, centred around learning.
Our approach
We are eclectic in our approach, bringing together methods from the social sciences, policy, community development, business and design. Through ten years of practice we have developed a set of principles to guide the kind of social innovation that we believe leads to meaningful long-term change.
Our methods are from system design, business and the social sciences – but we also draw on community and international development. Some of our people come from an innovation background, some from a practice background, all are united in their passion for helping disadvantaged people achieve their best life possible.
And at the forefront of every piece of work is a belief that individuals are the experts on their own lives.
In practice, this is achieved through a co-design approach –working with hard-to-reach and vulnerable groups to design policies, programs and solutions that work for them.
We know that the things stopping people living better lives are bigger than a single team or service can solve – which is why we partner with other like-minded organisations.
To us Social Innovation means…
Seeing social problems as economic problems and economic problems as social problems.
Taking a systemic and long term view – seeing the interconnectedness of everything.
Engaging lived experience throughout planning, design, delivery and evaluation.
Working with rigour, agility, evidence, experimentation and practice wisdom.
Furthering self-determination by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other communities experiencing marginalisation.
Building capability so that individuals, organisations, systems and the planet are better equipped to tackle the challenges they face.
Our story
The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI) formed in 2009 to find new and better ways to eliminate the inequality, poverty and poor life prospects many people experience, despite intensive efforts to help them.
Since then we have conducted a range of progressive social experiments aimed at increasing equality and inclusion. Over time, our dedicated team has crafted a radical approach to innovation, powered by people with lived experience of the challenge we tackle.
We work across complex policy areas and sectors including child protection, ageing, home and housing, place-based disadvantage, employment, disability services and health.
Our projects range from individual policy and service redesign through to multi-year innovation initiatives. Our Award-winning services include Family by Family and Weavers.
We have shared our social innovation approach and outcomes with innovators in Europe, Canada, New Zealand and the US.
Work with us
We help governments, not-for-profits, philanthropy and businesses to make change that leads to better lives.
Let’s stay in touch
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