Impact Spotlight

Shining a spotlight on Australia’s systemic & strategic design challenges.

Many of the most critical problems demanding our attention require a different approach to traditional innovation challenges. These ‘wicked’ problems are complex, open, dynamic and networked, which means that there is no one tidy solution.

However, by applying systems thinking, we can design a number of impactful interventions to help shape more positive outcomes.

We are shining a spotlight on some of the core challenges – one at a time – to apply the methodologies of systems thinking and strategic design for long-term impact.

Spotlight one:

Future of Care

Addressing the Future of Care in Australia is a complex problem, not easily solved through traditional approaches.

It requires a systems thinking approach that acknowledges the need for collaboration, experimentation and positive ambiguity.

Why now?

“1 in 10 Australians provides ongoing care and support to a family member or friend.”

— Source

“In 2020-21, 46% of Australians had one or more chronic conditions, and 18% had two or more chronic conditions.”

— Source

“The cost of care in Australia is set to double in the next 20 years.”

— Source

Our ethos for effective innovation in the social sector:

Disciplined exploration of potential future pathways and scenarios.
Use of different learning (re-)frames that unlock fresh thinking to challenge the status quo.
Cross-sector collaboration is needed to tackle higher order challenges.
Discovery & learning via experiments and new engagement models.

The Care Futures Lab

The scale and complexity of the challenges faced by today’s care and community services are multi-faceted.

The Care Futures Lab’s mission is to build bridges between different fields to explore new cross-sector approaches. To create a platform of diverse perspectives where insights can be shared, novel ideas surfaced and where we can explore a different scale of impact through a living cross-sector ecosystem.

A collaborative initiative, the Care Futures Lab brings together experts in aged care, disability care, youth mental health, homelessness and humanitarian services.

Find out more