Strengthening Our Villages
Stronger Families Alliance Strategy for children, young people and families 2019-2024
The 2019-2024 Stronger Families Alliance Strategy for children, young people and families is Here!
This Strategy aims to deliver significant and measurable benefits to children, young people and families living in the Blue Mountains. It is informed by local evidence and international research and builds on opportunities for collaboration in our work with communities.
To achieve its Vision, the Strategy will identify and develop a series of projects for children, young people, parents and the City which:
- Delivers measurable benefits to children, young people and families, particularly those who may be vulnerable or marginalised
- Utilises the participation of Blue Mountains residents, particularly communities of interest with specific strengths and skills
- Evolves in collaboration with relevant Blue Mountains agencies
- Leads to systemic change within Blue Mountains City Council and community agency partners
- Provides a framework enabling individual organisations to measure their contribution to outcomes
- Is informed by research and analysis of community need, opportunity and context, and the expertise of the Alliance
What have we done in developing this Strategy
Collective Impact Model
The Alliance adopted the Collective Impact model as the appropriate framework for developing local collaborative action.
Collective Impact was first described by John Kania and Mark Kramer to describe a collaborative
way of working, (see here). The model identifies five elements underpinning successful collective ventures:
- A common agenda for change including a shared understanding of the problem
- Collecting data and measuring results consistently across all the participants
- A plan of action that identifies mutually reinforcing activities for each participant
- Open and continuous communication across the many players
- Backbone organisations with staff and a specific set of skills to coordinate the initiative
Focus Areas and Projects
Initial projects under this strategy are: