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Who we are
Ready Communities is a national place-based program designed to build strengths in rural, remote and regional Australian communities.
Ready Communities was founded by Kerry Grace and Dr. Chad Renando in 2023. While both founders agree there are excellent place-based initiatives found across Australia, few incorporate both community and economic development in their framework.
The combined experiences of the founders enables integration of community and economic development portfolios to maximise the impact of siloed initiatives and enhance established long-term place- based methodologies.
Gallery
The national Social Impact in the Regions conference is delivered in regional communities as the centrepiece of the Ready Communities Flagship program. We provide volunteering opportunities for local community members to connect and learn at the event and link delegates with the host community.
Social Impact in the Regions delivers a program of activities that respond to the local need identified by the host community leading into the event. In Kempsey one of the identified needs was to enhance community pride and we did this via a range of in-community events and public installations.
Ready Communities hosts a range of community conversations designed to assist community members to connect and share their ideas and aspirations.
We structure our community conversations to attract a broad range of community members.
What we do
Ready Communities supports regional communities through our services in community engagement, capability development, mapping and business and social enterprise development. Our work supports communities to drive clarity and understanding; connection and connectivity; capability and capacity; advocacy and promotion and collaboration for purpose.
Our services include:
Research
Using the Startup Status mapping tool we map policies, programs, funding and stakeholders providing powerful decision making tools for regional communities which identify key stakeholders, information hubs and service duplication and gaps.
ACTIVATE programs
Our ACTIVATE program is delivered in community and online. It is designed to better equip regional changemakers with the tools they need to create sustainable change. ACTIVATE can be delivered in community to align to key strategic plans (such as Community Strategic Plans in NSW).
Community engagement
We deliver, and support communities to deliver engagement events from coffee meetings to public forums and our flagship national event Social Impact in the Regions which is held in a different regional community each year.
Social Impact in the Regions
Social Impact in the Regions is our national conference which hosts up to 350 regional changemakers and investors in a different community each year. The conference isn’t just an event, it combines a bespoke ACTIVATE program ensuring the host community leverages the event across business and social enterprise development opportunities; community mapping; space activation; local investment opportunities and tourism revenue generation.
Regional advocacy
Ready Communities undertakes an annual national Social Impact in the Regions survey and plays a role in advocating for investment needed to enhance the toolkits of regional changemakers. We are a go-to entity regarding regional place-based practice and our team speak and publish to support regional changemakers and investors.
Our work
Mapping connections in place-based interventions: A Ready Communities example
ArticlesChad Renando, Supporting Australian entrepreneurship and innovation, Research Fellow UniSQ, CEO Startup Status, MD - GEN Australia, August 13, 2024.
Mapping connections in place-based interventions: A Ready Communities example
Head office:
- New South Wales
Service location(s):
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia
- Outside Australia
Type(s) of actor:
- Social Enterprises
Area(s) of activity:
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