The Community Conversations initiative was born out of a desire by the Northern Grampians Shire Community Development Team to adopt a more strategic approach to supporting local community groups.
Traditionally, the Community Development Team has consisted of two workers with portfolios focusing on Arts and Culture, Grants, and Community Planning. Much of the team’s work had been centered around grants, project development, and responding to community needs on an ad-hoc basis. However, through ongoing interactions with community group representatives, staff identified recurring challenges, including the rising costs of running a group, difficulties in recruiting executive committee members, an aging demographic, limitations in project development and grant writing, and, in some cases, uncertainty about the groups' purpose and direction.
These discoveries prompted the team to consider how they could better allocate their time and resources to support a larger number of community groups in ways that addressed their ongoing needs and helped them thrive and grow. Funding was allocated and planning began.
In mid-2023 and early 2024, the team expanded to include a Multicultural Officer and two Healthy Ageing Hubs Connections Officers. While these new roles had clear, specific outcomes, it became evident that there was overlap with existing community development work and opportunities to consolidate and strengthen the team’s offerings. This expansion led to broader engagement with community group representatives, highlighting the need for a more coordinated and purpose-driven approach.