Our Work
Facilitating engagement and strategic dialogue
Enhancing Safety in Schools - Student Summit
In June 2023 Think Human worked with the South Australian Department for Education to design and deliver a Student Summit to explore ways to increase a sense of safety in the state's high schools. Students and educators from the public, independent and Catholic sectors participated, with students presenting their recommendations directly to the Minister for Education at the end of the day.
"[Working with Think Human] has been an absolutely delightful collaboration. I am certain we will have the opportunity to work together again soon."
Manager, Behaviour Support, South Australian Department for Education
Hospital Discharge for NDIS participants - Ministerial Roundtable
In July 2022 Think Human designed and facilitated a roundtable on behalf of the Ministers for Human Services and Health, to explore the urgent need for dignified, sustainable and safe pathways out of hospital for participants of the NDIS. Leaders from across the disability sector worked together to identify barriers and a range of workable options and solutions
Department for Human Services - Lived Experience Network design & facilitation
In 2020 Think Human worked with DHS and our Associate Dana Shen to co-design a Lived Experience Network (LEN) for the Child and Family Support System (which we also helped to co-design in 2019!). In 2023 we returned to the LEN to support the next steps for the group, including refreshing their values and decision-making principles.
"“Working alongside Mel was a really rich learning experience for me as a group facilitator. I was inspired by the way Mel was able to convey her compassion for group members along with keeping them on track to complete the tasks they were given. Mel skilfully provided safety for members to express their diverse views and ensured the wellbeing of the group as a whole. The work was outcomes driven and the process was kind and respectful.”
Paula, Lived Experience Network Co-ordinator
Co-designing for positive change
Co-designing a Stakeholder Consultative Group Structure - SA Power Networks
Think Human worked with the Engagement Team at SA Power Networks to review and redesign the stakeholder and consumer engagement groups that feed into the organisation's strategic directions and regulatory submissions. For this work we started with a survey technique to gather initial baseline data and insights about what works and what could be improved. Drawing on this data, we designed a range of activities and sessions to enable group members and SA Power Networks staff to co-design a Community Advisory Forum structure for the next five years.
“The Think Human team is well prepared and designs and delivers engagement activities to best suit our audience and to meet our objectives. Mel & Paul are fantastic facilitators and ensure all voices are heard and considered. Their summary reports and evidenced based recommendations are always of a very high standard."
Dan Popping, Head of Stakeholder Engagement, SA Power Networks
Co-designing an affordable insurance scheme for South Australia - Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (GSANZ)
Throughout 2023 Think Human worked with GSANZ to explore the feasibility of an affordable home insurance product to help communities throughout South Australia face the rising risk of climate-related loss. With insurance costs rising rapidly and a Parliamentary enquiry into the insurance industry underway, this work saw us meet with SA communities to understand people's experiences with insurance companies and to co-design an affordable and universal alternative. This was combined with an extensive engagement process undertaken by a subject matter expert we brought in for the project with insurers, financial counsellors and the NGO sector. A final roundtable was held in November with SA Government representatives and key sector partners.
Co-designing a Lived Experience Network - Junction Australia
Think Human worked with Junction leadership, staff and services users to explore options for the voices of lived experience to shape the future of services and decision-making in the organisation. A rapid process saw us connect with young people, foster carers, housing residents, service users and community centre groups to understand their needs and preferences and co-design a network model uniquely tailored to Junction. The final deliverable was a set of design principles and a draft model. Junction has recruited a Lived Experience Lead to take this work forward and establish the network in 2024, and we are continuing to support this work informally throughout 2024.
Strategic Planning
Community-centred Strategic Planning - West Adelaide Basketball Club
Think Human is supporting West Adelaide 'Bearcats' to refresh their community-centred strategy for the next five years throughout 2024. Starting with a vision and planning session with the Executive Leadership Group, followed by a club and community-wide survey and workshop process, Think Human is delivering a fit-for-purpose strategy at an affordable price-point for this community club. Get in touch to find out more about our strategic planning offers for community clubs.
SA Power Networks - Statewide Strategic Engagement for the Regulatory Reset Proposal
Think Human has been working for many years with SA Power Networks to support their statewide engagement processes to ensure the voice of the customer feeds into strategy and action. In the recent 'Regulatory Reset' process, we designed and facilitated a 'Broad and Diverse' engagement program, co-designing a range of online and in-person sessions with diverse and regional communities across South Australia.