The Social Design Academy welcomes professionals from a wide range of sectors, including not-for-profits, government, and social enterprise. In the last three years, we have had 45 participants join from 15 different organisations, ranging from small to large not-for-profits, State Government, academia, and others. We also strongly value the participation of First Nations and people with lived experience in the program.

We recommend organisations sign up for 2 to 3 team members to join the program, to provide peer support and increase uptake of new ways of working. 

What if I don’t have a team? 

We find that people make the most out of the program when they join in teams, but we can support motivated individuals to undertake the program independently on a case-by-case basis. We can also explore options to team up participants across organisations where relevant.

SoDA is primarily an online program, with fortnightly workshops facilitated online by our team. However, we recognise the importance of in-person interactions and if/where possible, we try to offer opportunities for participants to connect in person (e.g. meetups where participants are based in the same place). This said, we cannot guarantee in-person events as this will depend on the makeup of the 2026 cohort.

• 50+ hours of professionally facilitated workshops and learning sessions

• 7 personalised design coaching sessions (per team)

• Curated program materials and readings, including practical toolkits 

• Experience applying design skills and tools to real-world projects

• Opportunities to connect and learn with like-minded peers through the SoDA community, a network of current and previous SoDA participants

• Access to experts in design, innovation and systems change

• A dedicated space to commit time and energy to building design capabilities in your organisation

The Social Design Academy program focuses on developing your team’s ability to apply design methodologies to social issues, build conditions for systems change, and lead change through complexity. The program content is delivered through fortnightly online workshops and regular meetups. Download our brochure for more information on topics covered.

SoDA is a project-based program, so participants bring real-world projects to undertake as part of the program. Projects are chosen in partnership with participants’ organisations, depending on internal priorities. As part of the recruitment and onboarding process, we support participants and organisations to refine the scope of their project. Projects don’t necessarily have to help you build solid foundations to take your project forward. Many of the teams we support continue growing their projects after the end of the program. 

Over the last few years, we have seen projects delivered across a wide range of sectors (e.g., homelessness, disability, child protection, mental health). We have supported projects ranging from a focus on user research, service model redesign, all the way to systems change. For example, last year, we were privileged to walk alongside a cross-organisational team (Amber Lee from Indigo Junction, Elise Jorgensen from Mission Australia, and Si Lappin from Vinnies) who have been tackling youth homelessness in Western Australia.

You will need to dedicate at least half a day per week to this program. This includes time spent in sessions, as well as time spent working on projects. The weeks on which you have workshops will be more time demanding due to workshops lasting 2.5 hours. We expect the time demands of your project work to vary throughout the program, with more and less intensive periods.

Yes, we deliver a certificate of completion at the end of the program. However, please note that it is not recognised or accredited by professional or academic organisations.

If your team is interested in taking part in SoDA but cannot join the 2026 cohort or are interested in a shorter version of the program, please get in touch - we’d love to have a chat.

If you are an organisation interested in supporting a subsidised position, please express your interest here.