Reflections on GLF 2014 Community Action Projects

GLF 2014 participant Josie Kitch reflects on the process of developing and presenting Community Action Projects during the Governor’s Leadership Foundation (GLF) program. Throughout the year various GLF participants will contribute to a series of blog posts about their experiences and insights of the GLF program.

An important part of the GLF program is the development of the Community Action Projects (CAP). Earlier this year a number of ideas for projects were developed and then the group chose which project interested them most. In the GLF 2014 year six very interesting projects have been developed ranging from ‘building resilience in regional areas’ to ‘micro-enterprise for urban indigenous communities’ to ‘increasing well-being in year 9 via volunteering’.

Chris Vanstone explains co-design – TACSI

We were ably assisted during the last six months to further develop the original concepts by TASCI, The Australian Centre for Social Innovation. We met with the TACSI team three times to continue to explore the original concepts, understand the key stakeholders and re-scope the projects. Most groups had times of being overwhelmed by the breadth of the original scope and the refinement process was important to ensure that the projects were “small enough to be possible but big enough to make a difference”. To assist us further as group teams we also undertook analysis of team roles via the Belbin Team Profile, learnt about systems thinking for social change by Dr. Fiona Kerr and learnt about dialogue tools from Josie McLean. There was significant learning for all CAP groups during the process as the challenge of creating a project to deal with complex social issues and make a difference was significant.

Big issues, big-hearted communities

GLF 2014 participant Matthew Wright-Simon reflects on the experiences of the regional Field Trip of the Governor’s Leadership Foundation program. Throughout the year various GLF participants will contribute to a series of blog posts about their experiences and insights of the GLF program. Photos: Tracey Wallace.

The participants of this year’s GLF program have learned plenty about the huge challenges facing South Australia. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. How can we make sense of this complex, globalised environment we inhabit and somehow make a meaningful difference as leaders?

In our quest for answers, we all piled onto a bus to the State’s south-east in the middle of August and headed out of metropolitan Adelaide, where so much power and attention is concentrated for our mid-year field trip.

In every sense, this trip was the breath of fresh air so many of us needed. So in the spirit of blogging, this is more of a visual travel(bl)ogue with a bit of commentary (and big thanks to Tracey Wallace for sharing her photo collection).

Thursday: Coomandook and Keith

On Thursday, our trip took in a savvy Hansen family farm at Coomandook, where they are successfully tackling globalisation and succession planning on the land.

Then, down the road in Keith, we learned how to create a community bank, fight (and fundraise for) a hospital and form strong networks with anyone from new migrants to lucerne growers and olive oil processors. By the time we hit our base that night I was not alone in the impression that community leadership is alive, well and actually thriving in our regional centres — or at least those on the way to the State’s second-largest city.

Andrew Martin, Chair Committee Keith & District Community Bank Project BendigoBank

Angela Malpas, Regional Manager, Migrant Resource Centre

Garry Hansen, owner & farmer of Hansen Property

Hansen’s farm

Janet Allen, Chair of Board, Keith District Hospital

Jim Rowntree, Plant Manager, Tatiara Olive Processors

Panel in Keith

Warrick Thorpe, Chairman Executive Committee Lucerne Australia

Business models for the future of SA

GLF 2014 participant Robert Chuah reflects on Seminar 5 & 6 ‘Leadership of the Australian economy in the Asian Century’ of the Governor’s Leadership Foundation program. Throughout the year various GLF participants will contribute to a series of blog posts about their experiences and insights of the GLF program.

After three full days of seminars on climate change that were filled with facts, statistics and graphs, the 2014 GLFers moved on to another two full days of seminars on the Australian Economy in the Asian Century. The 2014 GLF journey so far has been intense and full of thought provoking facts and figures, and at times intense emotional debates.

The seminars on the Australian Economy in the Asian Century touched on very relevant and contemporary debates on issues and challenges impacting many Australians in general, and South Australian in particular. We covered the topic of manufacturing, the current condition of the economy and key current and future drivers of the economy.

Photo: Unsplash

The State of the Nation

GLF 2014 participant David Coombe reflects on the first seminar of the Governor’s Leadership Foundation program – The State of the Nation. Throughout the year various GLF participants will contribute to a series of blog posts about their experiences and insights of the GLF program.

The State of the Nation…

Such a phrase I feel invokes many thoughts and ideas when circulated in our communities. This seminar of the Governor’s Leadership Foundation Program focused on an overview of the debates related to our economy, population, environment and social issues that are facing Australia and South Australia, both domestically and abroad. With such a diverse array of matters that are touched by these topics and how they have and may impact the state of our nation now and into the future I felt ‘although I have my own thoughts and ideas, I am only scratching at the surface’. I’m curious to learn more from my fellow GLFers and speakers, acknowledged as experts in their field.

“Although I have my own thoughts and ideas, I am only scratching at the surface.”

I was interested to hear speakers advocate passionately for their point of view. Throughout the event some guests sought to connect their view point with those of the others, cross pollinating ideas and demonstrating that they are all interlinked. I saw where this did not happen a view point was not socialised, which meant that only ideas that were openly discussed could be aired and considered.

Speakers panel during Seminar State of the Nation, GLF 2014. Photo credit: Michelle Holland FGLF13

Reflecting on the seminar I am left pondering ‘what do we want our nation to look like tomorrow?’ What needs to be done today in order for our society to get there? And what may we have to go without in order for our society, our children and grandchildren to be custodians of a society we are proud to leave to them? It was interesting to note the phrase “we are too Adelaide-centric” appear in the conversation. This is a phrase I have used and heard time and again, but are we acting on our recognition of this?