In this 47-minute podcast Michael Hogan, Executive Convenor of Queensland Kids Partnership, is interviewed by Matt Healey as part of the podcast series It Depends.
It provides an excellent overview of Queensland Kids Partnership including where it came from, how it works, and its principles and vision. The far-reaching conversation covers:
  • Why the partnership chose not to add to the fragmentation, and what “use what we’ve got” means in practice
  • The shift from working in a place to genuinely place-based, systems-focused work
  • Organising around six portfolios – and the idea of “lead, facilitate, affiliate”
  • The systems intermediary role: bridging sectors, levels and organisations
  • Making invisible relationship work visible through social network analysis
  • Philanthropy as partners and “doers”, not just funders
  • Following the money – investment, commissioning and contracting as levers for change
  • A shared language through ARACY’s The Nest, instead of reinventing frameworks
  • From competitive advantage to collaborative advantage

 

 

Matt also outlined 5 key takeaways from the interview:

1 Don’t add to the fragmentation

The partnership was deliberately designed not to create a new entity or service, but to use what’s already there – drawing on ARACY’s national networks rather than adding another organisation to a crowded ecosystem.

2 Lead, facilitate, affiliate

Organised around six portfolios of work, the partnership thinks in terms of what it leads, what it facilitates, and what it affiliates to – recognising that everyone has a role to play, and that the role changes rather than disappears.

3 Make the invisible work visible

Relationship and partnership work is often unseen and undervalued by funders. Tools like social network analysis help show networks doing the work – and make the case for investing in it.

4 Follow the money

Fragmented, siloed funding drives much of the waste and complexity in the system. Shifting outcomes for kids means changing how investment, commissioning and contracting actually work.

5 From competitive advantage to collaborative advantage

Most incentives reward competition – even duplication. Valuing collaboration and adopting a shared framework like ARACY’s Nest lets partners speak the same language and contribute to a bigger whole.