By Kristi Mansfield, CEO, Seer Data & Analytics
ChangeFest this year was filled with heart, honesty and hope. I was grateful to sit alongside an incredible group of leaders who, like me, believe deeply in the power of community to lead change.
The Hon. Tanya Plibersek, the Minister for Social Services, and the Federal Member for Sydney joined in-person for the Opening Statement. Her words resonated deeply with me and those who gathered in Esplanade Park in Fremantle setting the scene for three days.
“We know that disadvantage isn’t evenly spread. Some communities face deeper, more entrenched challenges.
There are 235 communities that, together, account for the deepest 10% of disadvantage experienced in Australia. Of those communities, 65 are estimated to be home to over half of the Australians living in the most disadvantaged conditions.
When our universal systems fall short, we need place-based approaches.
That’s why I believe in what you do. I believe in community-led change. I believe it’s essential for Australia’s future.”
PLACE Australia convened a panel on Day 2 about how data can be an enabler for place-based impact. I spoke about how I’ve seen the ways that data and evidence, when in the hands of community, can shift power back to the people who live, work and care for their community.
When people closest to the challenges have easy access to the data, evidence and tools to lead change, power shifts and systems start to change.
For me, this is why I founded Seer Data. I’ve seen firsthand how often communities hold the wisdom, the ideas, and the courage, but not the data and evidence they need to drive shared decision making, influence policy or direct funding. Our work is about changing that. We are seeing place-based change enabled with community owned data in the 90 places we support around Australia.
During the session, we talked about the real barriers people face: navigating access to government data, finding the time and building skills for sense making, and building an evidence base of outcomes and impact in ways that all system actors can recognise. The organisations represented – Seer Data, the Strengthening Communities Alliance, the Australian Child & Youth Wellbeing Atlas, and PLACE Australia are each working to break down barriers and build a fairer and more equitable data ecosystem for everyone.
Key Insights from the Panel.
Equitable data is human work. It’s about relationships, trust, and storytelling as much as quantitative numbers.
From left to right: Keya Saha Chaudhury (PLACE Australia), Kristi Mansfield (Seer Data & Analytics), Eve Millar (PLACE Australia), Crystal Taylor (Mission Australia), Rebecca Glauert (Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas) and Marketa Reeves (Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas).
From left to right: Eve Millar (PLACE Australia), Crystal Taylor (Mission Australia), Kristi Mansfield (Seer Data & Analytics) and Rebecca Glauert (Australian Child and Youth Wellbeing Atlas).
The four place-based data buckets: Inform, Insight, Improve and Impact are a clear, understandable way for communities to navigate their data journey.
Stories shared from justice reinvestment in Bourke with Maranguka to community led decision making in Bega Valley with the Bega Valley Data Collective and in Shepparton with the Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project showed what becomes possible when communities and system partners work side-by-side, guided by shared data, evidence and deep local knowledge.
ChangeFest left me feeling energised for the year ahead. When communities have access to their own data it becomes a significant enabler for impact. We are proud to have built a data platform that supports and builds data infrastructure at the grassroots.
