Collective Impact Workshop 3

The third collective impact workshop of the Restoration Impact Framework project was held on Tuesday 28th May at The Hub, Bentley Technology Park. Twenty-one participants from diverse stakeholder groups such as farmers / farming communities & groups, government agencies, NRM / Landcare groups, Traditional Custodians (First Peoples) and landscape research and training groups attended. We were fortunate to have two overseas visitors from the UK participate from Sustainable Food Trust and SYSTEMIQ.

The need for political leadership and their critical role in addressing biodiversity loss and climate change was discussed. There was a strong emphasis on the importance of informing and educating communities to actively engage them in these crucial issues. Craig Pensini, Project Manager, identified that to build those informed communities we need reliable information that presents admirable messages. Craig said “this is where all of us can play a part. That is, you and your organisations because we already manage or generate that information.”

Formal presentations began with Dr Kirsty Moynihan, Climate Resilience Program Lead at WA Agricultural Research Collaboration (WAARC). She explained the organisation’s purpose and spoke of the importance of collaboration in attaining research excellence, the need for strategic investment and talked about knowledge creation and exchange for a resilient, innovative food and agricultural sector.

Steph Shorter from Impact Seed then guided the workshop through a series of talks and activities including:

• Reviewing the Vision and Purpose – participants refined the project vision and purpose integrating earlier feedback previously
• Investigating the Theory of Change (ToC)- the results of the outcomes and impact narrative for each stakeholder group into a detailed draft ToC was presented
• Updating the Investment Case – Ronnie Duncan from In Better Company shared feedback from the focus group about who should be involved building the Case, who could fund the work and what is the “angle” for our Case
• Introducing shared measurement and evaluation for a collective impact framework
• Brainstorming outcomes and indicators for three stakeholder groups(farmers and farming communities, government and Collective Impact partners)
• Reviewing the landscape map of regenerative farming activities
• Presenting “What project success looks like by end of 2024” and
• Introducing a Charter for participants and undertaking a “principles of practice” group activity.

Perspectives and information from Workshop #3 will be used to develop the program for Workshop #4 in September. In the interim Craig and the Perth NRM team will be delivering presentations to regional groups in the South West. If you would like information about the project, please contact Craig at craig.pensini@perthnrm.com

The Restoration Impact Framework project is funded by Lotterywest and Commonland with collective impact workshops delivered by Impact Seed and coordinated by Perth NRM.