Partnering to measure social inclusion
Social inclusion is an important part of individual and community mental health and wellbeing . Since 2018 , we have partnered with diverse organisations supporting social inclusion and connection in different ways through the Social Inclusion Shared Measurement Program .
This year we took on the lead role of coordinating the program ’ s partnership and resources , focussed on :
building our partners ’ capacity to conduct evaluation of programs
embedding shared evaluation questions into partners ’ monitoring and evaluation activities
achieving wider impact by developing processes and resources to collect and share evaluation data advocating for this shared way of working and for our ability to measure social inclusion
What did we achieve ?
8 organisations signed partnership agreements
3 resources developed : survey guide , data template and data collection notice
2 workshops held with partners , with average of 20 attendees
15 presentations at network meetings across the region to support participation
suite of 5 questions endorsed by partner organisations to use to measure social inclusion
24 projects provided data with
642 participant responses to the suite of questions
71 % of participants in partner projects reported improved social inclusion
Data dashboard developed to display responses for partners involved in trialling it
4.2 / 5 rating of our support by participating organisations
4.6 / 5 rating of the overall partnership experience
Selected to present at the Australian Evaluation Society Conference in Brisbane in September 2023
Where can we improve ?
exploring options for future funding for the partnership work to continue to grow
What ’ s next ?
growing the partnership and the number of organisations contributing to the dataset
holding another workshop with partners to aid feedback and capacity building
Fostering community leadership and connection
We were excited to continue to engage our broad and diverse communities through our Hello , Merri-bek ! program . This one-year project aimed to increase social connections within and between communities ; and grow participants ’ leadership and community mindedness .
This year ’ s Hello , Merri-bek ! included two programs :
The Great Idea Program invited applications for local community development projects . A selection panel of ten multicultural women chose the three successful projects .
The Party Program , a small grants program supported community-led events for International Women ’ s Day ( IWD ). Event hosts were given $ 100 gift cards and an activity pack to support their event .
What did we achieve ?
33 IWD Party Program events supported ; 686 participants across the events
IWD party program participants reported :
– 76 % increased ability to be a leader
– 73 % increased their social connections
– 73 % had more opportunities to be involved in community projects and initiatives
– 79 % increased their sense of belonging
17 applications received for The Great Idea program
3 new Great Idea Program initiatives supported : a Playgroup for Autistic Children , a Wellbeing Program for Women Aged Over 55 and a Women ’ s Social Group
What ’ s next ?
continuing The Great Idea Program , with a focus on ideas for getting people moving and active in the community
“ We love the buzz that these types of events create in our community . We especially love that we can deliver them at low cost but create such a huge impact on each attendee . Everyone felt welcomed and no one felt left out . ”
Merri Health Annual Report 2023 35