WA Government Funds Social Innovation

Nine Not for Profit organisations will share in $2.5 million funding from the WA Government under the Social Innovation Grants Program.

The first nine recipients of the grants are Anglicare WA; Association for the Blind WA; Brightwater Care Group; Enterprise Learning Projects; Good Samaritans; Growing Towards Wellness; Public Health Advocacy Institute; Ruah Community Services; and WA Association for Toy Libraries.

Community Services Minister Robyn McSweeney says the program offeres incentives to community groups to ‘think outside the box’ to better meet a broad range of social needs.

The WA Government has allocated $2 million in funding for 2010-11, and says it will increase the funding to $4 million in future years

McSweeney says successful programs included improved services to aged or people with disability regardless of their culture or language and development of an alternative recovery model for people with mental illness.

She says these projects are focused on developing new technology, new service delivery models and innovative approaches to meeting social needs that provide community benefits.

According to McSweeney, the Social Innovation Grants Program is expected to make a significant contribution over time towards the establishment of a culture of innovation in the delivery of human services in Western Australia.

The WA Government has allocated $2 million in funding for 2010-11, and says it will increase the funding to $4 million in future years

Applications are open for the second round of funding, and close in August 2011.

Guidelines and application forms can be downloaded from the Department for Communities website: www.communities.wa.gov.au

The first nine recipients of the grants are:

• Anglicare WA Inc, Turning the Curve for Western Australians: implementation of a Results Based Accountability (RBA) framework and methodology, sharing lessons learnt with the community sector and supporting the development of RBA more broadly in WA
• Association for the Blind of Western Australia Inc, Web-Based Alternative Format Production: establishment of an accessible, user-driven, web-based alternative format production service to improve access to information for WA people with print disabilities
• Brightwater Care Group Inc, Improving Services to the Western Australian aged & people with disabilities regardless of culture & language: delivery of a multi-faceted model of culturally appropriate service delivery that addresses diversity in service providers, care workers, care recipients and their families
• Enterprise Learning Projects, Grassroots Microenterprise Development for the Ngaanyatjarra Lands: development of microenterprises in remote Aboriginal communities with the aim of enabling communities to create sustainable and rewarding work opportunities
• Good Samaritan Industries, Ageing with My Ability: delivery of practical solutions and collaborative responses for people with disabilities who are ageing with the aim of developing practical, on the ground, services and supports
• Growing Towards Wellness Pty Ltd, Mentoring Into Work: development of an alternative recovery model for people with a mental illness
• Public Health Advocacy Institute of WA, Western Australia's Indigenous Storybook: through 'storytelling' celebrate the achievements of those working to improve the health of Aboriginal people and share information about what has and has not worked in addressing the health needs of Aboriginal communities
• Ruah Community Services, Ruah Vocational Focus Project: development of a model for service delivery that better integrates education, training and employment elements into traditional community service provision
• Western Australian Association for Toy Libraries, Improving Toy Library access for LOTE and low literacy users by pictorial catalogue: development of visual representation for toy loan contents with the aim of breaking the literacy barrier so a broader spectrum of users can access toy library services.