Brophy Family and Youth Services
Education
A collaborative response to youth disengagement in regional Victoria
Case Study: Beyond The Bell
ProjectBtB 2.0
Amount$30,000
Date2020
ProgramEducation
| TRUST OBJECTIVES | PROJECT OBJECTIVES |
|---|---|
| Rural and regional Victoria | Improving outcomes for 0-19yrs in South West Victoria |
| Enabling financial sustainability | Developing a new strategic plan to assist with leverage for operational funding |
| Building organisational capacity | Building the capacity of the Advocacy Working Group, BtB Regional Backbone, in consultation with local communities to develop a strategic long term future for BtB |
| Collaboration and partnership | Brophy Family and Youth Services; Deakin University Warrnambool; GSGLLEN; SWTAFE; Glenelg Shire; local Catholic Primary School; Wannon Water; local Action Groups |
Building capacity for an ongoing complex systems change initative in South West Victoria
Beyond the Bell is based on the recognition that no single person, organisation, sector or government can tackle or solve the increasingly complex social problems we face as a society. After three years of activities aimed at improving outcomes for up to 24,000 young people aged 0-19 year, a review of strategy and focus was vital to ensure the initiative is able to continue to listen, respond and act to meet the needs of the community and the region’s young people, as well as enable ongoing sustainability.
Image Cover image by Mr Walter Graphic Design
Beyond the Bell is a community led response to the fact that young people in the Great South Coast are less likely to achieve Year 12 than their metropolitan counterparts. Recognising education is the key to unlocking life opportunities, this complex challenge has been taken up as a priority by partners and stakeholders across the region, with a range of place based responses in each of the local government areas.
Snapshot:
- Working across six municipalities and involving multiple projects, a regional backbone team brings together numerous stakeholders from across the Great South Coast who are all working towards the same goal: to make substantial social impact on educational attainment levels and thereby address wider issues of skills development, employment and regional economic stability in South West Victoria.
- The revised strategic plan provides a clear outline of activities and goals across the region for the next three years.
- The project includes the development of key resources for working group members to advocate for the initiative to maintain and diversify funding.
- The backbone team develop partnerships, support evaluation, implement regional projects and support the work of the Board, Collaborative Table and Local Action Groups.
- In 2017, HMSTrust funded the development and establishment of an evaluation and shared measurement framework which could be used by multiple stakeholders across the different communities, from the smallest grassroots community organisation to the sophisticated user. This was a highly successful grant. Ultimately this capacity-building initiative resulted in the Victorian Government committing operational funding of $1m over three years. These resources were shared equitably across the 6 LGAs to support the backbone activity.
"It offers an opportunity to analyse the current context, engage with community and refocus Beyond the Bell’s work to ensure that young people in our region can reach their full potential." Greg Burgoyne, CEO, Glenelg Shire.
