City of Casey: Developing a governance and resource model for the housing and homelessness sector
Objectives:
Right Lane Consulting was engaged by the City of Casey on behalf of the South East Homelessness and Housing Alliance (the Alliance) to develop an effective governance and resource model for the Alliance. The Alliance had been operational for over a year but had been ineffective to date. A clear strategic direction for the Alliance, supported by a sound governance and resource model, was needed to bring together a local response to the housing crisis and provide more tailored support services and diverse housing options.
About the City of Casey
The City of Casey in the outer south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne is one of Victoria’s largest and fastest-growing municipalities, with a diverse and multicultural population. Parts of the local government area experience significant socio-economic disadvantage, highlighting the important role the City of Casey plays in improving social outcomes and infrastructure across the area.
Description of services provided:
The project was delivered using a co-design approach with the 10 members of the Alliance including local councils and housing and homelessness service providers. Right Lane Consulting facilitated 4 co-design workshops with Alliance members to agree on the future state model of the Alliance:
- Workshop 1 ‘Our strategy’: Developed the vision and purpose, and articulated the advantage and scope of the Alliance
- Workshop 2 ‘Our ways of working’: Developed the objectives and activities of the Alliance, and agreed principles that were used to inform the design of the overall governance framework
- Workshop 3 ‘Our governance structure’: Agreed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) as the appropriate governing model and its contents, and identified resourcing requirements for the Alliance
- Workshop 4 ‘The road ahead’: Agreed to rename the Alliance and developed a 6-month implementation plan to operationalise the Alliance including 11 agreed implementation plan milestones.
Each workshop was supported by pre-reading material prepared by Right Lane Consulting to stimulate and inform discussion including survey results with member perspectives on the Alliance, a proposed governance framework that Right Lane Consulting had developed, a comparison and assessment of different governing models, and an indicative template for the MOU. Throughout the project,
Outcomes:
The Alliance now has a clear strategic direction and shared sense of purpose, with increased member engagement and strong goodwill to move forward. The in-person nature of the workshops was deliberate and critical to building rapport and relationships between Alliance members and providing a shared sense of direction and excitement. The Alliance was also provided with an agreed plan to establish the refreshed Alliance, including clear commitments and expectations of each organisation for future participation and resourcing.
If you’d like to find out more, get in touch today.
