David Hood

The Search: Bringing $1M in support to Australian communities tackling society’s big issues

By David Hood| 2018-04-12T11:51:54+00:00 July 7th, 2014|

For most Australians life is good. By a measure of average wealth, we’re among the wealthiest in the world. Our cities regularly top global lists for livability, and our nation has recently been named as one of the happiest places to live on the planet. But while most Australians enjoy a high standard of living by international standards, many are facing serious social and economic problems that are proving tough to resolve, and in many cases becoming worse. Once the domain of government or not-for-profits, it has become clear that the complex nature of many of these issues means that no single program or organisation, however innovative, influential, well managed or well funded, can successfully address them singlehandedly. In fact, if we are to make the large-scale societal change required to tackle these big challenges, then we need to adopt collaborative, community-driven, data-based approaches and ensure better cross-sector coordination, rather than rely on the usual isolated intervention of individual organisations. […]

The Search: Bringing $1M in support to Australian communities tackling society’s big issues

By David Hood| 2014-07-09T11:44:47+00:00 July 7th, 2014|

For most Australians life is good. By a measure of average wealth, we’re among the wealthiest in the world. Our cities regularly top global lists for livability, and our nation has recently been named as one of the happiest places to live on the planet. But while most Australians enjoy a high standard of living by international standards, many are facing serious social and economic problems that are proving tough to resolve, and in many cases becoming worse. Once the domain of government or not-for-profits, it has become clear that the complex nature of many of these issues means that no single program or organisation, however innovative, influential, well managed or well funded, can successfully address them singlehandedly. In fact, if we are to make the large-scale societal change required to tackle these big challenges, then we need to adopt collaborative, community-driven, data-based approaches and ensure better cross-sector coordination, rather than rely on the usual isolated intervention of individual organisations. […]

Hume Food Summit 2014

By David Hood| 2014-07-14T11:38:50+00:00 June 23rd, 2014|

Healthy Together Hume want to explore with you what a better food future might look like for Hume. Hume has a vibrant, multi-cultural and abundant food history. But our growing population, rapidly changing environment and fast-paced lives have significantly reduced our ability to produce and access healthy affordable food. In order to build a future for Hume in which we can all thrive, we need to ensure that healthy and sustainable food is accessible and affordable for all. In cities and towns all around the world residents, local businesses, community organisations, government and social entrepreneurs are coming together to build better food futures. By setting up community gardens, farmer’s markets, food hubs, school programs, food swaps, social enterprises and other innovative initiatives, they are building stronger communities, improving the health and wellbeing of residents, growing the local economy and laying solid foundations for the future. […]

Local Food Project Big Ideas Jam

By David Hood| 2014-06-13T07:59:00+00:00 June 3rd, 2014|

All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come. – Victor Hugo Do you believe that Melbourne can have a food system that is healthier, more sustainable and fair for all? We do. We also know that there are ideas out there that could transform the way we produce, distribute, prepare, share, sell or consume food – contributing to a local food system that would enable Melbourne to thrive, now and well into the future. WHY WE’RE GOING LOCAL Local food systems play a pivotal role in strengthening the local economy, help build stronger, more resilient communities, provide much needed jobs at a local level, and give consumers access to healthy, fresh food at affordable prices. Localising the food economy also returns diversity to land that has been all but destroyed by chemical-intensive monocropping, reduces the cost and environmental impact of shipping produce over long distances, and means farmers are able to make a decent living. With a growing interest among Australians in the quality, provenance, freshness and price of food, and an increasing demand for food that is locally produced and seasonal, we believe that there is a unique opportunity in front of us to come together and build a healthy, sustainable, resilient and fair local food system that will support all of Melbourne to thrive, now and into the future. […]

Workshop: Transformative Dialogue – Moving From Conflict to Constructive Conversations, with Sarah Rozenthuler – Fri 9 May

By David Hood| 2014-05-05T09:52:05+00:00 March 26th, 2014|

While conflict can be destructive to our communities, relationships and wellbeing, it also holds the unique potential for transformation – of our work, our relationships and ourselves. So how do we learn to move from conflict to constructive conversations? How do we build our capability to foster genuine and transformative dialogue like masterful facilitators? What are the sources of theory and practice? What does this mean for our inner work, conversational routines and collective rituals when perspectives and opinions clash? Join psychologist Sarah Rozenthuler, bestselling author of Life-Changing Conversations, for this unique one day workshop to: build your capability to shift situations of conflict toward generative outcomes and constructive relationships discover how you can break limiting patterns of talking nice, talking tough or not talking at all learn the tools and techniques to have transformative conversations and tap in to the greater potential of working with others […]

Workshop: More than Just Talk – Conversations that Matter, Sat 3 & Sun 4 May

By David Hood| 2014-03-29T12:21:40+00:00 March 26th, 2014|

A two day event on dialogue and thinking together. Michael Hann and Graham Richardson want to shift the culture of conversations. Research shows that we routinely get stuck in patterns of talking nice, talking tough or not talking at all about the big issues that affect our lives, our workplaces and society. Imagine the impact if this changed. So they are inviting you to More than Just Talk, a 2-day intensive learning experience to move beyond everyday habits of conversation and collaboration, and get into more transformative forms of dialogue, reading the room and thinking together. […]

Sustainable & Fair Food: Going Local, with David Holmgren at the Sustainable Living Festival

By David Hood| 2014-06-02T07:43:49+00:00 January 29th, 2014|

Healthy food systems are the foundation for healthy lives, communities, economies and ecosystems. In order to build a future for Melbourne in which we can all thrive, we need a food system that is sustainable, resilient and equitable. Join world-leading environmental designer, ecological educator and writer, David Holmgren, and farmers, retailers, restauranteurs, growers and community advocates from around Melbourne and across Victoria, coming together to explore how we can build a better food system by ‘going local’. At Sustainable & Fair Food: Going Local, you’ll hear why building a local food economy is good for the environment, farmers, community, your weekly food bill and our future. You’ll get to share what ‘going local’ means for you, why you think it’s important, and how City of Melbourne might help us all to ‘go local’. You’ll also get to cocreate a vision for City of Melbourne about what ‘going locall’ might look like for producers, retailers, restauranteurs, community and government in and around Melbourne. […]

Collaboratory Melbourne Meetup February 2014: John Hagel – Harnessing the Power of Pull

By David Hood| 2014-03-29T12:27:25+00:00 January 29th, 2014|

No one will argue that we live in a world of tumultuous and accelerating change, visible everywhere from the exponential adoption rates of digital technologies and growing urbanisation, to the failure of our public institutions and increasingly volatile financial markets. This degree of change, this Big Shift, can be disruptive and destabilising, but it is during periods of upheaval, that the right move, one aligned with these waves of change, can achieve far greater results than a big move. Simply put, by leveraging the forces that are driving change, we have the opportunity to achieve much, much more with so much less. Join us for this special evening, with John Hagel, cochair of Deloitte’s Center for the Edge and coauthor of The Power of Pull, and learn how we might harness pull to reshape our lives, organisations and industries. […]

Social Innovation Forum: Beyond the Safe City, 5 & 6 March 2014

By David Hood| 2014-03-29T20:02:59+00:00 October 22nd, 2013|

The City of Melbourne’s vision is for our city to be bold, inspirational and sustainable – “a place where everyone feels safe and able to be part of our community at any time of the day or night”. In addition to being recognised as the world’s most liveable city, in the year 2000 Melbourne became the first capital city in the southern hemisphere to be designated as an International Safe Community, and continues to be the only capital city in the southern hemisphere to maintain this status. We believe that a safe city is one where all feel welcome and connected, and a place where all can thrive. YOUR INVITATION Join us for the Beyond the Safe City Social Innovation Forum to explore how we might go beyond being a safe city to establish Melbourne as the most vibrant, safe and welcoming city in the world for all who live, work and visit here. […]

Unconference: Art of the (Im)possible, 31 Oct & 1 Nov 2013

By David Hood| 2014-03-29T12:34:07+00:00 October 14th, 2013|

The Art of the (Im)possible: creatively and artfully enabling artists, activists and social entrepreneurs to achieve (what others might call) the impossible. Throughout history, artists, activists and social entrepreneurs, have helped us envision better futures and make positive change in the world. Without access to significant amounts of money or the power that comes with the backing of large institutions, these resourceful individuals have become impresarios. They have embraced collaboration and learned to think more innovatively, leveraging limited assets to tackle important issues. Their ingenuity has led them to craft better and more effective ways to raise awareness, gather supporters around a cause, solve problems, spread their message and transform communities. Join us at the Art of the (Im)possible Unconference to learn how leading artists, activists and social entrepreneurs are: bringing people together to address issues that matter strategically using social media to build community and enable participation using free online tools to collaborate more effectively applying creative approaches to develop socially innovative solutions building financially and personally sustainable projects for longer and greater impact tapping into the incredible value of peer-to-peer networks for learning, funding and collective action […]

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About David Hood