About Pathways in Place-Victoria University

Our approach

Pathways in Place–Victoria University is working with practitioners, policy-makers, researchers, and communities to build capacity for effective place-based systems change approaches that improve community outcomes. We also advance academic knowledge about place-based systems change approaches and the role of research in community change. 

Central to our approach is the application of co-creation principles and systemic inquiry to identify locally actionable complex problems.  

Communities we partner with

Brimbank    

The City of Brimbank is located on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri/Woi-wurrung of the Kulin Nation, 10-20km west and northwest of Melbourne’s centre. Brimbank is a dynamic and multicultural community with a population of 209,422, around 43% of whom were born overseas.    

Despite its many strengths, high rates of youth unemployment and pockets of educational disadvantage remain in the community, and many of Brimbank’s young people are not able to reach their full potential.   

Recognising that people living in areas of relative disadvantage often experience poorer health outcomes, Pathways in Place-Victoria University aims to strengthen the wellbeing, education and employment pathways for young people in Brimbank by targeting system level change. You can read more about our work with the Brimbank community, including our work with some of Brimbank’s young people, here. 

We work with practitioners, policy-makers, researchers, and communities to:    

  • develop theory, methods, and evidence for place-based, systems change approaches  

  • build capacity to support the design and implementation of effective place-based, systems change approaches   

  • co-design coordinated strategies that aim to address complex problems through targeting changes in system behaviour.  

  • understand our impact on both advancing science and improving community outcomes  

You can access our current work, and keep informed about our future endeavours by: 

  • checking out the tools, resources, and other outputs in our Knowledge Hub 

  • reading our blog, where we draw on systems thinking to help understand current events 

Hume  

Hume City Council is located on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri/Woi-wurrung, which includes the Gunung-Willam-Balluk clan. Home to almost 260,000 residents, Hume is one of the fastest-growing and most culturally-diverse communities in Australia.   

Hume City Council has a strong focus on understanding the challenges faced by residents who are seeking employment opportunities through community participation and collective decision-making.   

Our work with Hume is primarily concerned with understanding the distribution of employment and education-related programs and services (and the organisations that deliver them) administered in the Hume Local Government Area. You can read about our work with Hume here.