Our Social Design Academy: making real impact in real time
How can we support changemakers to develop capabilities and apply them in the vital work they do?
When ThirdStory (formerly Innovation Unit Australia New Zealand) considered how to build more capacity for social impact work and systems change in Australia, the answer was not to simply teach people how to use design tools. We needed to support people to apply new thinking and new capabilities in their own contexts. So, building on the work our sister organisation (Innovation Unit UK) had started with the Innovation Unit Design Academy, we launched our own version of the Design Academy in Australia in 2023. We designed it as an eight month program for participants to learn as they work on a live project for their organisation, learning through workshops, expert coaching and peer support.
In our first two cohorts we have seen participants (from not-for-profits and government departments including Anglicare WA and Victoria, Chorus, Mission Australia, Department of Communities WA, Indigo Junction, Vinnies) take on the challenge of learning in tandem with the challenges of their day-to-day work. It has been exciting to see the potential for impact taking shape as the program progresses.
The Social Design Academy (SoDA) is developing the social sector’s most valuable resource - its people
Working in social impact, we are fortunate to encounter many people who are so passionately committed to bringing about positive change. It is a privilege to be in a position to share ThirdStory’s knowledge and expertise to grow people’s capabilities to shape services and systems.
The Social Design Academy teaches a wide range of social design tools to deploy in their work including creating personas drawn from their research to focus on human experiences; designing and facilitating powerful workshops; mapping systems. Potentially even more difficult than mastering new tools is the process of adopting new mindsets around their work - being able to “stay in the grey”, to admit that none of us hold ready answers to the very complex problems we are working with, such as child and youth homelessness or the social isolation which often comes with old age.
The teams’ journeys are supported by ThirdStory’s coaches who provide tailored guidance and facilitate formative discussions.
Participants work on the projects that matter to them and their organisations
Teams from organisations come to the Social Design Academy with an idea of a project they want to work on - and they start flexing what they have learned straightaway. “It’s not just a theoretical course. You get to embed it into your practice,” says alumna Helena Shojaei of Department of Communities WA.
Our diverse cohorts take on challenges that matter to them and their organisations: the team from Chorus WA used the design process to work out how they might shift their purpose from being a service provider to being a community connector; one Anglicare Victoria team applied this approach to the planning of a new Heritage Centre in Melbourne which would be a space for past, present and future clients and staff; Anglicare WA drew together people from different parts of the organisation to design approaches to support their clients’ understanding of data sovereignty.
In 2024, participants from Indigo Junction, Vinnies and Mission Australia formed a team to focus on child and youth homelessness. They observed that the very fact of their collaboration was unusual; organisations are usually working in competition with one another due to the way services are commissioned. Their particular Design Academy experience has “planted a seed” for more collective work in the sector, says Si Lappin from Vinnies. He describes how powerful it was to intentionally bring people together from different organisations: “It was a very refreshing experience… it breaks down some of the competitive barriers.”
“It’s not just a theoretical course. You get to embed it into your practice.”
What powers the learning in the Design Academy?
Listening to our past participants, we have learned what has been most important to them about the Design Academy experience.
The chance to develop as they work on a real-life project for their organisation
The potential for connection with a group of peers who bring varied perspectives
The opportunity to dedicate time to developing themselves while completing work which is relevant to their role
ThirdStory’s commitment to building capability has expanded beyond Australia. 2025 sees the launch of SoDA Bermuda, where organisations, leaders and practitioners will be supported to expand their capacity for innovative work as they deliver their own impactful projects. In Aotearoa, the aim will be to grow the capability of rangatahi (young people) to create change, showcasing leading Māori change-making practices.
Project Team
Jethro Sercombe - Director Innovation and Practice, Australia
Claire Dodd - Senior Project Lead, Australia
Helene Tholoniat - Project Lead, Australia
Naomi West - Project Officer, Australia
