Pathways in Place (PiP): Co-Creating Community Capabilities (2020—2025)
PiP is an innovative program of research and action that supports the flourishing of children and young people in two communities: Brimbank, Victoria (led by Victoria University) and Logan, Queensland (led by Griffith University).
Together with local communities, we co-create evidence-informed responses that build on existing strengths, resources, and opportunities to address local needs.
The work is organised in three interconnected clusters:
- Workforce capacity-building
- Implementing and evaluating place-based initiatives
- Critically reviewing existing resources
Pathways in Place collaborates with practitioners, policy-makers, researchers, and communities to build capacity for effective place-based systems change approaches that improve community outcomes. Our work also advances the evidence in this area and develops tools and resources to support place-based initiatives.
Our work in Brimbank
Since 2020, we’ve been working with the Brimbank community to improve pathways through education and employment for young people.
We developed a system map that represents the complex education and employment pathways Brimbank’s young people must navigate. This map was used in a series of community workshops with young people, practitioners and other community members to identify local problems and their root causes.
In response to issues such as recruitment practices and poor information flows, we established the Pathways in Place Action Network – a multi-sectoral collaboration of six member organisations supporting young people in Brimbank:
The program was funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation.