Call for Leaders to Tackle Disruption and Reimagine Impact
Following a highly successful inaugural program in 2020, we have opened applications for this year's Reimagine Impact.
Generously supported by The Snow Foundation and developed in partnership with ThinkPlace and Korn Ferry, Reimagine Impact brings together social purpose organisations with expert facilitators, coaches and corporate leaders. Back by popular demand, the 12-week program is designed to empower social purpose organisations, as well as corporate and government leaders with the adaptive leadership skills and confidence of human-centred design to tackle disruption and build resilience and innovation capability.
The unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented level of disruption and social purpose organisations across Australia have had to rapidly shift their strategy, vision and operations in order to withstand the social and economic impact. "It has been an incredibly tough year and a half. Reimagine Impact assists social purpose organisations to innovate and adapt in this challenging environment, having access to high calibre global experts and training, regardless of their location," said Georgina Byron, Chief Executive Officer at The Snow Foundation.
"The pandemic has revealed the strengths and weaknesses of our social systems," said Darren Menachemson, Partner and Chief for Digital Societies at ThinkPlace. "We have a unique opportunity, right now, in 2021, to respond with social purpose innovations that not only transform our organisations, but have a real effect on society."
Reimagine Impact takes an experiential approach, where leaders learn from experts and their peers, and apply design thinking frameworks to a challenge that social purpose organisations are experiencing. The program comprises a series of interactive workshops, coaching sessions and cross-sector collaboration.
The 21 organisations that participated in the 2020 program were selected from a highly competitive pool of applications and came from across Australia. Post-program evaluation revealed it helped 97% of participant organisations generate new insights, 87% translate ideas into tangible solutions and 93% approach innovation differently.
“The Reimagine Impact program was a fantastic, energising experience and I learnt so much. The program spans human-centred design to adaptive leadership approaches - everything that is critical for problem-solving and innovation in today's complex world," said Maeva Freeman, Head of Fundraising at ActionAid Australia. Reflecting on the experience, Juanita Pope formerly at Justice Connect, complimented the program design, content and delivery. “The Reimagine Impact program gave me the theory, tools, support and confidence to properly engage with design thinking as a for-purpose leader in a fast-changing world. The course had a perfect blend of theory and practice, presented by an impressive and engaging group of for-purpose professionals. Joanne Kirk, Chairperson at Birth for Humankind, was fully of praise, stating simply, “the Reimagine Impact program was worth its weight in gold!"
Corporate leaders who participated in the 2020 program were similarly complimentary, “I did not know what to expect when I started the program. I learned something new each week. It was inspiring to meet the people doing so much in their social purpose organisations and to see their progress over 10 weeks. It really made me feel uplifted and encouraged that there are so many people working incredibly hard to make the world a better place," said Therese Cochrane, General Manager at Samuel Terry Asset Management. “The Reimagine Impact program provides a great combination of learning about human-centred design and the opportunity to apply the thinking to real-world challenges organisations are facing," said Brad Doble, Director at The Cabinet. "The outcomes achieved and the confidence to apply design thinking in the future over the short-time frame of the program were amazing.”
"Reimagine Impact provides a genuinely exciting opportunity for a cohort of social innovators to come together and learn design skills to tackle Australia's most complex social issues. The cohort worked on a wide range of challenges, from increasing the mental health and resilience of young Australians and using digital literacy to reduce social isolation through to services that improve elderly in-home care," said Jessica Roth, Founder and Director at Social Impact Hub.
Due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the program will be conducted entirely virtually, culminating with Pitch Day on 24 November 2021, where participating organisations will present their innovations to sector leaders, philanthropists, community influencers and program partners. Applications for Reimagine Impact are now open and close 6 August.