Commissioning FAQs for SEDI learning communities

What are learning communities?

Learning communities bring people together to share experiences, learn from each other and work through shared challenges. They can take different forms depending on their purpose, participants and resources.

They may also develop and share knowledge, tools and practical resources so others can learn and build on them.

What learning communities are supported through SEDI?

SEDI learning communities bring people together around social enterprise interests and priorities to share knowledge, strengthen practice and develop resources that benefit the wider sector.

They aim to:

• Connect people and organisations so they can learn and work together.
• Share existing knowledge and build on what already exists.
• Nurture ideas through collaboration and experimentation.
• Strengthen skills, knowledge and practice across the sector.

They bring together diverse perspectives, voices and leadership, with a commitment to equity, inclusion and decolonising the sector.

Who convenes SEDI learning communities?

As the SEDI Education and Mentoring Coordinator, Social Enterprise Australia engages individuals and organisations to convene learning communities.

Convenors bring people together around relevant topics, facilitate learning and collaboration, and help document and share knowledge through resources and activities that benefit the wider sector.

Explore the learning community directory to discover communities, their focus and who's involved.

What are the objectives of SEDI learning communities?

SEDI learning communities respond to learning needs and priorities identified across the sector.

They aim to:

• Put sector values of authenticity, collaboration, creativity, diversity and justice into practice.
• Share existing knowledge and create new learning that others can freely access.
• Recognise and value First Nations leadership, cultures and experience.
• Include people from diverse and under-represented backgrounds.
• Support innovation, experimentation and learning together.

Communities are expected to bring together diverse perspectives, explore shared challenges and develop knowledge, practices and resources that strengthen the sector.

Why does SEDI support learning communities?

Many learning communities already exist across the sector. They hold valuable knowledge and experience but may have limited resources to document and share what they learn.

SEDI supports these communities to connect, strengthen their work and make knowledge and resources more widely accessible, so others can benefit.

What are the four types of SEDI learning communities?

SEDI supports four types of learning communities, offering different ways to connect, learn and contribute. They are:

1. Open learning
2. Peer learning and support
3. Deep experience
4. Innovation collaboration

Open learning

Open learning communities share knowledge, stories, skills and experiences from SEDI learning communities and the wider sector through online events and forums that are open to everyone.

Social Enterprise Australia commissions and co-produces learning opportunities on topics of shared interest and value to the sector.

Key attributes:

• Bring together diverse perspectives, including voices under-represented in the sector.
• Share knowledge and practice through interactive formats such as workshops, story circles, panel discussions, conversations and Q&A sessions.
• Strengthen connections, practice and leadership that help people and planet thrive.
• Offer opportunities for anyone to participate, explore and learn.
• Focus on topics and learning needs identified by the sector.

Webinar recordings and transcripts help make learning more widely accessible, including for people who cannot attend live.

Considerations when selecting convenors:

• Which topics and formats would be most valuable in addressing identified learning needs and gaps?
• How can learning opportunities be co-created to strengthen sector knowledge and capability?

Explore webinars.

Peer learning and support

Peer learning and support communities bring people together around shared social enterprise interests, places or challenges.

Participants build relationships, support one another, nurture ideas and share learning. These communities welcome people with different levels of experience, recognising that everyone has knowledge and perspectives that can contribute to the sector.

Key attributes:

• Focus on places or themes of social enterprise interest or impact.
• Bring participants together through regular online meet-ups to connect and share experiences.
• Create opportunities to explore and exchange ideas.
• Organise activities and events to share knowledge.
• Share updates on planned and completed activities.
• Review participation and feedback to understand how useful and responsive the community is to its members.

Considerations when selecting convenors:

• Which themes or shared purposes would be valuable for a peer learning community?
• Are there existing peer learning communities working in this area that could be supported or strengthened?

Deep experience

Deep Experience communities bring together people from different organisations with specialist knowledge or experience in a particular area of social enterprise activity or challenge.

Participants learn together, work through problems and develop practices and resources to share with the wider sector.

Communities may welcome new participants over time or have specific participation criteria and limited numbers, depending on their purpose and capacity.

Key attributes:

• Focus on a specific area of shared inquiry relevant to the sector.
• Bring together diverse people, organisations and roles with experience and expertise in the focus area.
• Build trust so participants can openly exchange knowledge and experiences.
• Support participants to both contribute to and benefit from shared learning.
• Have identified coordinators and processes for regular communication and participation.
• Meet regularly and undertake activities between meetings that contribute to learning.
• Agree on terms of reference and ways of working.
• Develop and share practical resources, such as guidance, tools and strategies.
• Contribute insights and advice that can strengthen the sector's collective understanding and strategic voice.
• Review participation and feedback to ensure the community remains useful and responsive.

Considerations when selecting convenors

• Are there people who would benefit from connecting to develop practice in a particular area?
• Could an existing or emerging community produce valuable learning if supported to meet regularly and develop resources?
• Are there gaps in sector capability that a Deep Experience community could help address?
• Are there new developments in the sector that would benefit from focused learning and collaboration?

Innovation collaboration

Innovation Collaboration communities bring together people and organisations with different perspectives to tackle complex challenges and explore ways to transform systems.

They experiment with new ideas and approaches to support a more just, healing and regenerative future where people and planet can thrive.

Key attriubtes:

• Form around complex challenges and work towards a bold, shared goal.
• Bring together diverse participants to test new ideas and practices.
• Encourage innovation across organisations, sectors and different levels of decision-making.
• Explore equity in social enterprise design, development, policy, practice and leadership.
• Question existing assumptions and ways of working.
• Build connections and relationships across different groups.
• Focus on learning through action and experimentation.
• Encourage humility and shared responsibility for the future the sector wants to create.
• Recognise the role of individual, intergenerational, collective, historical and systemic trauma in social justice and systems change, and support healing-centred approaches.

Considerations when selecting convenors

• What significant challenge or new idea could an Innovation Collaboration explore or test?
• How could the collaboration challenge existing approaches and improve outcomes for people and planet?

What process has been followed to commission SEDI learning communities?

As the SEDI Education and Mentoring Coordinator, Social Enterprise Australia has:

• Identified learning needs and gaps in the sector that could be addressed through learning communities.
• Ensured commissioning decisions were informed by the sector.
• Clearly communicated the types of learning communities being commissioned, including expected deliverables and payments to convenors.
• Engaged capable, credible and specialised people and organisations to convene learning communities.
• Encouraged innovative approaches that centre equity and justice.
• Supported collaboration across the sector and the development of resources that can be freely accessed and shared through Understorey.
• Worked with convenors to agree on clear, realistic and responsive deliverables.
• Supported delivery through clear, fair, efficient and reasonable processes.
• Strengthened relationships with convenors through ongoing monitoring, evaluation and shared learning.
• Ensured commissioning followed principles of good conduct, practice and governance.

What next?

Learning communities continue to play an important role in connecting people, strengthening capability and sharing knowledge across the sector. Through SEDI, Social Enterprise Australia continues to support learning communities and make their knowledge and resources more widely accessible.

Explore the learning community directory to discover who's involved and opportunities to connect, or watch webinars to learn from others.

Running a learning community? We'd love to hear about it. Share what you're doing to help others discover, connect and learn from your work.

Following the extension of SEDI to June 2027, Social Enterprise Australia will build on the learning communities established through the initiative, supporting further opportunities for peer learning, collaboration and sharing knowledge across the sector.

Last updated: October 2026

This page updates the commissioning FAQs originally published on 13 November 2025. For a copy of this, email team@understorey.org.au.