Starting School Demo Project

Canberra: The DHS team en route to observing existing service interactions

Whether they know it or not, nearly every Australian family comes into contact with the Department of Human Services (DHS). DHS programs include Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support.

Nearly every Australian family also faces the transition from children at home to children starting school. The transition is critical for children, parents, and families – opening up opportunities for child development, parental employment, and strengthened family relationships.

The challenge

How might DHS improve outcomes for families with children starting school? That’s the question this demonstration project between DHS and TACSI sets out to answer. We’re calling it a demonstration project because we hope to show how the Working Backwards approach can be used inside of public systems to enable better outcomes.

The ‘Starting School Demonstration Project,’ which runs from August 2011 to March 2012, will see TACSI and DHS work together to:

co-design ideas for how DHS could enable better outcomes for families with kids starting school
develop co-design approaches for future service delivery
build knowledge about family life to improve future service offers.

TACSI will be facilitating the first three phases of the Working Backwards approach: the Get Ready, Look & Listen, and Create phases. We’re currently in the Get Ready phase where we’re refining the project focus and building the project team. During the Look & Listen phase, we’ll spend time with families who have kids starting school to understand what life is like, and identify the opportunities for things to be different. During the Create phase, we’ll co-design ideas and visualise scenarios for what DHS could do to enable better outcomes.

Using new techniques for DHS and taking a co-design approach, the project will involve around families in three metropolitan locations over three months.