TACSI’s next strategy
This is the second in a series of articles giving you a sneak peek into the development of TACSI’s next strategy. In the last article we shared the approach and thinking we’ve been using to develop the strategy and the routine burn that gave ourselves some time back to focus on our evolution.
In this article, we share three of the lessons we’ve learnt from 15 years of doing and pursuing social innovation in Australia.
LESSON 1
People rarely ask for social innovation
In 15 years of work, there’s not more than a handful of organisations that have approached us explicitly asking for social innovation. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen it in an RFQ. This has caused us a few existential crises over the years, but we’re not planning on changing our name any time soon. What people do seek out is social innovation capabilities and practices specific to the situation in hand.
LESSON 2
Innovations don’t scale as well as practices do
When TACSI started, we focused a lot on scaling social innovations. We ran a national challenge funding social innovations across Australia, and developed a Radical Redesign team to use design based approaches to develop new social innovations, including Family by Family and Weavers.
There were some great successes from that work. Ten years on, Family by Family is still alive and well in South Australia, and for a brief period was operational in NSW (three years) and UK (one year) with the support of progressive funders. Weavers has now been delivered over four countries and 11 sites.
But if we look back over what is now 15 years of work at TACSI, it’s not innovations that have scaled, but practices. For example, our work supporting organisations to build their peer-to-peer capability (the practice behind Family by Family and Weavers) has now supported the development of 11 different innovations, in four countries, in areas including palliative care and young parents, as well as the development of long-term strategies to improve the conditions for the uptake of peer-to-peer (for example,. SA’s Department of Human Services Peer Workforces strategy).
LESSON 3
There are many different approaches to social innovation
Looking back over 15 years of work, there are at least eight significant practices we’ve worked with. Eight ways of working that are not yet widespread, yet feel like they have an important role to play in helping us navigate the complexities of the 21st century: co-design, systems innovation, community innovation, allyship, impact networks, social R&D, and just futures.
Done well, they all support the development of systems awareness, imagination and give real power to people experiencing marginalisation. We didn’t invent any of them, nor do we hold a monopoly on them - what we have been able to do is localise them for Australia, show what they look like in practice, building the capability of others to do them, and occasionally shape policy and commissioning conditions to increase uptake (as we’ve done in SA with peer to peer).
Our emerging strategy
Collectively, these lessons are directing us to a new strategy that:
Packages social innovation in ways that are relevant to different contexts: for government, communities, philanthropy and NGOs etc.
Scales social innovation practices.
Works across three settings: service systems, communities, and our collective imagination / and our collective sense of possibility / social imagination.
TACSI’s engagement with social innovation practices over time
Co-design (Since 2010)
A practice for designing services and systems, especially for groups experiencing marginalisation. Co-design involves participatory processes that bring together lived experience, research, and practice expertise. An alternative to professional-only design approaches.
Peer-to-Peer (Since 2010)
Designing and delivering service models that create change through the exchange of shared lived experience. Connections may be face-to-face, virtual, or blended. Peer-to-peer has very broad relevance, TACSI has applied this in areas such as child protection, bereavement, caregiving, domestic, family and sexual violence, and addiction. An alternative and complement to professional service delivery.
Systems Innovation (Since 2014)
A practice for creating change in complex systems. Systems innovation involves participatory processes that include diverse stakeholders, especially those with lived experience. Particularly relevant for government policy, service system reform, and long-term philanthropic strategy. An alternative to top-down or basic consultation approaches.
Community Innovation (since 2016)
An approach to building the capabilities and infrastructure for communities to lead their own change. Typically involves strengthening skills in innovation, social change, imagination, and participatory granting.
Particularly relevant to community-led, place-based initiatives where communities play a major role in outcomes—e.g. mental health. An alternative to community-led collective impact approaches. Take-up is still small beyond the Our Town initiative in six South Australian regional towns, but with strong examples like Hands Up Mallee.
Allyship (Since 2018)
Practices that catalyse and support creative, practical action toward reconciliation, self-determination, and change with First Nations people.
Relevant to settlers on colonised lands. Complements cultural awareness training and understanding of privilege.
Impact Networks (Since 2018)
An approach to organising diverse stakeholders to drive systemic change.
Typically emphasises changemaker wellbeing, systems awareness, and relationship-building and independent aligned action. Relevant for enabling change in complex systems, particularly where the system producing an outcome lacks formal structure. An alternative or complement to top-down systems-change approaches.
TACSI has facilitated five impact networks in Australia; uptake is particularly strong in the USA.
Social R&D (Since 2019)
An emerging field focused on creating R&D systems that advance social outcomes—combining the best of scientific and industry R&D with participatory and deliberative processes. Particularly relevant to designing systems for commissioning and funding innovation. An alternative to laissez-faire or bespoke approaches to innovation.
Currently emerging in Australia, with notable international examples, e.g., youth services in Canada.
Just Futuring (Since 2024)
An approach to catalysing action for more equitable futures through activities such including: mobilising unlikely connections, collective imagining, entangling diverse knowledges, charismatic demonstrations, and directing strategy and resources. An alternative to long-horizon strategy and futuring processes that can unintentionally reinforce injustice.
Indigenous Systems Knowledge (Since 2024)
A growing global movement of Indigenous practitioners applying Indigenous Systems Knowledge to address complex systemic challenges - for all people.Relevant across complex problems and design activities. A complement or alternative to Western knowledge-only innovation.
TACSI has been working with Indigenous-led innovators AIME to apply this to our own work and to share the approach through the Learning Hub.