Introduction
Cities within Australia and overseas are growing quicker than ever before. Climate change, economic opportunity, and the lure of a better life are seeing millions around the world leave their homelands and take up residence in what are beocming overcrowded and under resourced communities. Typical responses to the need of these growing communities have been driven by the familiar systems of economy, infrastructure and aid, development and welfare. Whilst seeing marginal improvement these systems lack a people focused, strength based approach that builds on the good already present in a community.
SFI (formerly known as Centre for Building Better Community) has been working to strengthen communities both here in Australia and internationally, by training community leaders, local welfare, aid and development workers and others to believe in themselves and believe that communities have the strengths and resources needed to flourish.
As an organisation we are looking for investors who will help us grow to our next level of impact.
Who We Are
SFI is a group of community practitioners and academics, whose focus is to catalyse the building of flourishing communities in Australia and around the world. We do this primarily through training, education and related initiatives. In existence for almost 7 years, we’ve had the unique opportunity to see our frameworks and tools adopted and bringing hope to communities in some of the most challenging environments in the world. We want to create communities and cities where everyone can flourish. We will do this through training and education that fosters belief in local people, creates a shared a vision and provides tools for community led change.
Our Impact
- Pakistan Partnership Initiative (PPI) is an umbrella organisation for around 200 local NGOs whose work consists of activities such as running schools, feeding programs, creating employment and small businesses, disaster recovery and the empowerment of women. In 2023, SFI was invited to train a group of PPI partners in how to create flourishing communities. Whilst most of the material was new, the feedback from the participants was so positive that PPI invited SFI to come back and not only train a further cohort but train a group to be trainers. SFI’s material has now been adopted as the community building methodology for the network and local NGOs are already adopting the language and practice of flourishing and Strength Based Community Development (SBCD).
- For the past 2 years SFI has been working closely with Rhema Burundi, a local NGO, to support an informal settlement on the outskirts of Bujumbura. Due to climate change Gatumba is flooded on average twice a year. Using SBCD based tools, taught by SFI, Rhema strengthened their connection with the community. They brought a group of leaders together in an ongoing conversation to explore community resources and their hopes for the future. When the government declared that it would no longer help the community, because they refused their solution of a total relocation, that group and others were perfectly positioned to bring the community together to work on their own solutions. Since then the community has created a common savings account to secure the resources necessary to divert and work with the water. That and other strength based outcomes are helping move the community out of poverty.
- During the COVID19 Melbourne Lockdowns, SFI partnered locally to deliver free online training for community service workers. We encouraged them, even in times of crisis to think about community flourishing as an outcome of their work and that COVID gave a unique opportunity to re-think their practice. As a result of this training SFI worked with North Richmond Community Health (NRCH) over the ensuing 12 months to welcome community back into communal spaces on the North Richmond public housing estate. By working with local residents to tell their stories of trauma and strength during the lockdown period and by creating spaces for them to be creative, SFI was able to create a legacy of ongoing community-led creative practice in the housing estates.
Our Products
In order to be sustainable we have created a number of products and we need your investment to help take us to the next level of imapct through bringing them to market.
University Accredited Education
A training course in flourishing and strength based community development, suitable for aid, development, welfare and community based workers is already developed. The course includes our Flourishing Framework(R), strength based community development, systems thinking, community leadership, community research, and staying motivated for the long haul, as well as many practical tools to help students implement what they are learning. Our aim is to deliver this course in partnership with universities around the world, creating cohort models where students learn from us and are accredited through their university.
Workshops for Community Flourishing
We recognise that not everyone wants to invest in university accredited education and so have adapted the course into a series of workshops suitable for individuals and teams engaging in community work of any sort. Participants can take one workshop or develop their own learning plan in line with their needs. We can offer these workshops directly to participants or sell them to governments, welfare, aid and development organisations.
Flourishing Schools
If we want to see our communities and cities change for the better we need to not only invest in current leaders, but emerging. We are developing materials for primary and secondary teachers and students aimed at embedding the elements of flourishing into school communities. These materials will be available for professional learning for staff and packaged in revelant curriculum for rollout across schools
Flourishing Workplaces
Whilst a core focus for SFI is community, we recognise that everyone wants to flourish and with most people spending most of their time at work, a flourishing workplace free of toxicity and rapid staff turnover is essential for wellbeing and productivity. We are developing resources for business owners and HR managers to embed the principles of flourishing into their business. Through our analytical tool we see this evolving into an accreditation of workplaces, enabling businesses to become employers of choice.
Flourishing Networks
Initially, a free service aimed at helping people connect with each other, share story and learn about the concept of flourishing. We offer this online in Australia, Africa and Asia. Our broad plan for the networks is for them to become hubs of education and information sharing, especially in the discovery and valuing of indigenous and local knowledge. Over time we will create resources that can add value for network members enabling us to charge an annual fee for membership.
What's Next?
If you're someone who's interested in investing in local and global impact, recognise ROI beyond dollar returns, then we'd love to talk with you about becoming a financial partner in SFI. With our track record, networks and your resources we believe significant and lasting change is not only possible but inevitable.
