SOCIAL ISSUE 

Cricket, and the local cricket club, is at the heart of hundreds of communities across Victoria. Growing participation numbers are a positive sign that cricket plays an important community role,  transcending age, gender, race and ability. However the impact cricket has on the local community is largely undefined, and often it's potential is often untapped.

CLIENT CHALLENGE  

Cricket Victoria - one of Victoria's leading sporting organisations - intrinsically knew that cricket connects communities and improves lives by bringing people together. It was clear that cricket delivered mental, physical and cultural benefits, positively shaping the lives of the individuals and communities involved. 

However, Cricket Victoria wanted to know ‘How can we measure and enhance our social impact through the cricket experience?’. And, ‘How can we be more targeted and deliberate in the impact we deliver locally’?

Cricket Vic also recognised that the needs and issues important to the community varies across the thousands of cricket clubs across the state. Any system for improving social impact would therefore need to be:

• Adaptable - to a local context;
• Simple - to allow clubs to implement themselves;
• Repeatable - so that it could be expanded across the state; and 
• Meaningful - to deliver real social impact. 

THE ROLE LATITUDE NETWORK PLAYED 
 
This project was delivered over two key stages: the first focused on understanding the needs of local clubs, communities and the types of social and health issues that clubs could realistically engage with. It delivered a frame and a method that Cricket Vic could use to help clubs enhance their social impact using participation as the main tool. The second stage (ongoing through 2020-21) is piloting the process (known as the Community Outcomes Framework) by working with clubs themselves to co-design initiatives to identify and address local needs and using data to measure the impact.

IMPACT 

Latitude Network has built a Community Impact Framework for Cricket Victoria that, once tested, will enable cricket clubs right around Victoria to identify and address important social issues within the community using participation as the key tool. We continue to work with Cricket Vic and clubs in stage 2 (2020-21) to co-design local impact initiatives and use data to  monitor and evidence the effect during the club cricket season.  

SOCIAL ISSUE 

SHM began life with the opening of the parish doors in Grey Street, St Kilda, to host meals for locals experiencing homelessness. 
 
Nearly 40 years on and SHM is now a leader in providing intensive support for people right across the homelessness spectrum using engagement services (meals and welcoming physical spaces) and individualised service support as well as providing accommodation and support.
 
SHM’s program, Journey to Social Inclusion (J2SI), was born in the late-2000s out of the organisation’s concern that ‘business as usual’ was not allowing them to do the job they wanted to do - end homelessness for some of Melbourne’s most vulnerable people.  As a result of the inherent silos in the social and health service systems, SHM decided to invest in building an evidence-based, outcomes-focused program for clients linking a ‘rapid-housing’ response with targeted help over the long-term (three years) - something the current service system found almost impossible to do.​

CLIENT CHALLENGE

After raising funds to run J2SI as a pilot as well as an expanded phase 2, SHM’s challenge was to continue to attract funding to both keep the program going but also to grow the program so that SHM could reach more of those it knew needed more targeted support. 
 
In late 2016 the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance issued a ‘Request for Proposal’ for its Social Impact Bond (SIB) Pilot Program. SHM saw this as an opportunity to both continue the growth and reach of J2SI while also testing an ‘outcomes-based funding’ approach for J2SI.
 
But this was going to be a competitive tender with perhaps up to 20 organisations interested in applying. How do we make SHM’s J2SI program stand out and then, if successful, negotiate something that had no precedent in Victoria?

THE ROLE LATITUDE NETWORK PLAYED / THE OUTCOME

Latitude Network acted as a specialist advisor, project manager and negotiator through both the tender application and contract negotiation stages. Russ Wood helped coordinate the existing expertise, talent and energy within SHM and the J2SI program, translating that into a negotiating approach that would help meet the Government’s outcomes, policy and financial agenda while also getting SHM the best outcome.
 
It was intense work - fortnightly negotiation meetings with Government (led by Treasury officials) meant weekly SHM team meetings to review the meeting agenda and do the work to prepare to negotiate and, importantly, problem-solve the many challenges.
 
Latitude Network not only helped keep the process on track - but also provided timely advice on the political and policy environment as well as the emerging outcomes-based funding environment.

THE TRANSFORMATION / IMPACT

J2SI became Victoria’s first ever SIB to be agreed when Victoria's Minister for Housing signed the contract with SHM in December 2017.
 
As a result of this, SHM is now able to provide intensive, tailored support over three years to 180 individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. Keep in touch to hear further updates as the project progresses.