What We Do / Our Initiatives
Thriving Queensland Kids Country Collaborative
Working together for rural, regional & remote kids
The vast and varied state of Queensland is an amazing place to grow up.
We need our systems to ensure every child has what they need to thrive, regardless of their postcode.
The Country Collaborative works to achieve equity in rural, regional and remote Queensland communities to foster healthy developmental environments and outcomes for country kids.
The decisions we make about how to allocate investment and resources, deliver services, and best support our rural workforces and communities, all have the power to improve outcomes for children.
Country Queenslanders know their communities and the needs of their children and families best.
By listening to the voices of country Queenslanders – and to the evidence – we can create conditions for all kids to thrive, now and into the future.
Towards thriving
This initiative is supporting fairer health and development outcomes for Queensland’s children by… providing a collaborative way to:
- strengthen system shifting work in rural, regional and remote communities to create conditions for all kids to thrive, regardless of postcode
- amplify voices of country people on systems issues and efforts.
Working together
This initiative is facilitated by Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership in conjunction with James Cook University, Central Queensland University, University of Southern Queensland and University of Sunshine Coast, in collaboration with organisations with a country footprint.
Who else is onboard?
- Better Health NQ
- Bidgerdii
- Bridges Health and Community Care
- BUSHkids
- Centacare FNQ
- Central Qld University
- CheckUP
- Department of Education
- Department of Workplace Relations
- Isolated Children’s Parent’s Association – Queensland
- James Cook University
- Little Sparklers
- Mission Australia
- Ngukuthati Children and Family Centre
- Outback Futures
- PCYC
- QATSICPP
- Royal Far West
- The John Villiers Trust
- The Smith Family
- Tim Fairfax Family Foundation
- Uniting Care Community
- University of Southern Qld
- University of Sunshine Coast
- Vocational Partnerships Group
- Western Qld PHN
- yourtown
“John Villiers Trust is here to support work and ideas that seed long-term meaningful change. We love country Queensland and we believe the future of its communities is in the hands of young people. This is where great change starts.”
Lea-Anne Bradley, The John Villiers Trust
What we're already achieving
Together with our partners, we’ve already:
Established a Strategic Leadership Committee comprised of James Cook University, Central Queensland University, University of Sunshine Coast and University of Southern Queensland.
Set up the Country Collaborative with more than 30 country organisations to:
- Identify the unique challenges faced by children, young people and families in rural, regional and remote areas
- Share learnings and insights about programs, services and practices
- Work together to improve systems and deliver services collaboratively
- Make sure the voices of country Queensland communities and organisations are represented in decision-making.
Co-designed a shared agenda for the Country Collaborative centred around:
- Equitable access and outcomes
- Workforce
- Investment
- Country voices.
Launched the Social Network Analysis Project (SNAP) in collaboration with University of Sunshine Coast, yourtown, The Smith Family and First Person Consulting. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is about mapping and making sense of complex systems and networks. This project will give us a comprehensive map of connections amongst decision makers and influential voices across Country Queensland to inform and align our approaches to supporting country kids. Watch the Country Connections: Social Network Analysis Project webinar to find out more. If your work services children in country Queensland, please contribute to the Country Collaborative SNAP Survey (open until 21 February).
Commenced the Country Counts Data project, to enhance data capability in country Queensland, providing tools for place based leaders to co-design solutions to local data challenges. This project is being developed and delivered in partnership with Cairns South Together (Mission Australia), The Smith Family Capricorn and the Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas.
Compiled the Thriving Kids in Disasters Report (funded by The John Villiers Trust). This is the first comprehensive review of how children are included in disaster management in Queensland. It shows that children’s wellbeing has often been overlooked by adults in how to prevent, prepare, respond and recover from disasters. The report offers important (often relatively simple) recommendations for how we can do better. Thanks to additional funding from The John Villiers Trust, we are now moving on to the implementation of the report’s recommendations. Find out more on the Thriving Kids in Disasters page.
Started scoping for projects aimed at amplifying country voices and increasing understanding of how we might increase service access and outcomes and enhance workforce development in country Queensland.
“I’m really grateful to Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership for being a part of this. I always kind of say this little stat and it’s like ‘you are a mean and an average of the five people that you hang out with the most, and so I look at my engagement with Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership in this sort of way. You have created it and it is not only helping me, because it is helping my staff which then feeds onto helping our clients which is really exciting – but it is bigger than that. It’s like what they call ‘a rub effect’ – when you are around greatness it rubs off on you because you start to develop skills and strategies from these other people that are greater than yourself. And this is kind of my way of saying that being with you guys is rubbing off on me.”
Country Collaborative member
One partner shared that becoming a part of the Country Collaborative was a ‘massive game changer’ as it led to previously unknown and unimaginable opportunities (funding, leadership and system change learnings) and resulted in successfully obtaining funding, applying for grants, increased courage to share their own stories, being more open to creative ideas and to learn leadership skills.
How you can get involved
Local people know what their communities need for children and families.
If you’d like to be actively involved in the Country Collaborative to help implement our work, we’d love to hear from you.
Contact Jacinta Perry on jacinta.perry@aracy.org.au.
Related links & documents
LINK
Thriving Kids in Disasters (TKiD) Project
Visit the Thriving Kids in Disasters page to find out more about the work we are doing to enhance Queensland’s prevention, preparedness, response and recovery strategies to support child wellbeing and resilience in disasters.
LINK
Country Connections: Social Network Analysis for Country Queensland Kids Webinar
Held on Wednesday 22 January 2025, this webinar provided an overview of the systems mapping technique social network analysis (SNA), and considers how we might apply it to enhance systems coordination and advocacy efforts across the child, family and youth sector in rural, regional and remote Queensland communities.
Thank you to our partners
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More about our work ...
Explainer video: "What surrounds us shapes us"
This short explainer video introduces the Resilience Scale and ARACY’s The Nest framework as models to help understand how experiences and environments shape children’s health and development.
Partnerships charter
Our Charter clearly sets out the partnership’s shared goals, values and ways of working to improve systems for Queensland’s children. We invite you to review the Charter and join us if you support our shared vision for Queensland kids.
Report: Queensland Place-Based Rivermap
The Queensland Place-Based Rivermap proposes systemic actions to support our many place-based initiatives. Let’s work together to create local conditions that are good for families and kids.
