As we began our summer holidays in early December, my 7-year-old went to a mosaic-making workshop. When I picked her up, she held up her creation for me to admire. I asked her to explain the mosaic-making process to me. She happily described choosing the shape of the mosaic, the…

We tend to start stories at the beginning. But sometimes, the beginning isn’t the best place to start. …

By Lila Wolff, Hands Up Mallee and Thea Snow, CPI ANZ Back in July, the Centre for Public Impact, Hands Up Mallee and the Dusseldorp Forum began working together on a project exploring storytelling for systems change. We spent July and August listening to people share their ideas around storytelling…

When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease almost three years ago now, I wrote just ten words in my journal — “I can’t believe this is the story of my life.” This is a short post about stories and the power they hold in our lives. It is mainly personal…

I’ve been thinking a lot about certainty lately. And uncertainty, too. It goes without saying that there are vast swathes of literature on certainty. This piece doesn’t draw deeply on that literature; rather, it stems from my experiences and observations as a practitioner working in the field of reimagining government. …

Late last year, Nicole and I hosted an initial conversation which was designed to bring people together who self-identified as working in the space of reimagining government in Australia. We didn’t know exactly what we wanted from this gathering, or where it would lead. We simply wanted to bring people…

Sometimes, you learn about an idea that really sticks with you. This happened to me recently when I learnt about “legibility” — a concept which James C Scott introduces in his book Seeing like a State. Just last week, I was involved in two conversations which highlighted how pervasive the…

“For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong” — HL Mencken This week, we had our final CPI team meeting for 2020. To begin, we were asked to share what we were most proud of this year. People offered lovely reflections — “becoming a…

In late January this year, after almost three years in London, my little family and I landed back in Melbourne. 2020 has not been the year we — or anyone — expected. It has been challenging beyond belief (and I say this recognising that the challenges have been, for many…