Expert Panels
Current Projects
Allied Health Mentoring Program, Department of Human Services
Evaluation of Alcohol & Other Drug Parenting Support Service, Department of Human Services
Evaluation of the Consumer Leadership Program, Victorian Quality Council
Evaluation of the Sexual Assault Reform Strategy, Department of Justice, Victoria
Evaluation of Tweddle Prisoner Parenting Programs
Evaluation Services for the Court Mandated Diversion Program, Department of Justice Tasmania
Youth Strategy, Moorabool Shire
Completed Projects
To view our completed projects, click here
Allied Health Mentoring Program, Department of Human Services
Success Works is currently in its third year, undertaking the development and operation of a mentoring program for Victorian rural and remote allied health graduates. The project is based on the premise that by establishing supportive relationships for graduates at the beginning of their employment, recruitment and retention of allied health professionals in rural and remote Victoria will be improved. Other anticipated outcomes include improved job satisfaction amongst participants, reduced professional isolation, and improved knowledge and confidence through greater awareness of career development opportunities.
In undertaking the project, Success Works will develop and deliver a range of outcomes including:
- Development and implementation of appropriate training for mentors and mentees
- Providing individualized needs assessment program
- Providing individual learning and professional development plans
- Ensuring an effective system of linking appropriate mentors to mentees.
Success Works and DHS are seeking participants from a range of disciplines including: Physiotherapists, Podiatrists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Pathologists, Audiologists, Dieticians, Hospital Pharmacists, Psychologists, Medical Radiation Therapists, Radiographers, Nuclear Medicine Technologists, Medical Physicists and Social Workers. To be eligible you must have taken up positions in publicly funded health care organisations and community services in rural and remote areas of Victoria. ‘Graduates’ are defined as entry level through to Grade 1, Year 2.
Please visit www.mentoringworks.com.au for more information.
Evaluation of Alcohol & Other Drug Parenting Support Service - Department of Human Services
Success Works is undertaking an evaluation of the Alcohol and Other Drug Parenting Support Service for the Department of Human Services.
The evaluation will be both formative and summative and will analyse whether the program achieved its key aims, what models and approaches
were successful, what impediments and barriers were present and whether and how they were mitigated.
Through a mix of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, coupled with desktop research and consultation, the Evaluation will establish the extent to which existing Family and Parenting Services have been enhanced, what services were provided to parents who move from supported accommodation back into the community - case studies will be particularly useful as a determinant, whether the Service been adequately focussed on its primary target, what secondary consultation has ensured and what issues have arisen, and what is the range of referrals sources to the Service.
The evaluation will also establish the extent to which the broader objectives of the Alcohol and Drug Parenting Support Service have been met, namely the enhancement of parenting skills and capacities, the improvement of parental access to universal and secondary services, the improvement to family resilience and wellbeing, and the awareness among specialist services of the needs of parents and children seen by AOD services.
A key feature of the evaluation will be a highly inclusive process, with a comprehensive communication strategy, established to link all stakeholders and inform them of the progress of the evaluation, as well as to ensure they enjoy a sense of ownership over evaluation outcomes and believe that their contribution to the process is considered and valued.
Evaluation of the Blueprint Teacher Professional Learning, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Success Works is now in its third year of evaluating the Teacher Professional learning (TPL) program. TPL is a Professional Development program for teachers run through the DEECD in Victoria. It involves providing Casual Replacement Teachers (CRT) relief to enable teachers to undertake a project of their choice either individually or in teams, with the support of their school. In each year of the evaluation Success Works has distributed and collected surveys for participating teachers and their school principal, conducted site visits with both participating and non-participating schools in order to assess the differences that exist between them. A report has been presented to the Department at the conclusion of each year. The evaluation has recently been extended for another year, and is expected to conclude in early 2009.
Evaluation of the Consumer Leadership Program for the Victorian Quality Council
Success Works has been engaged by the Victorian Quality Council (VQC) to evaluate its Consumer Leadership Program. The focus of the evaluation is to determine whether the Program has met its stated objectives and the satisfaction of participants. To date, Success Works has held initial consultations with the participants of the program to ascertain their expectations.
The Victorian Quality Council (VQC), a division of DHS, is currently delivering a program for Consumer Leaders in the health industry in Victoria, and Success Works has been contracted to evaluate this program. Each of the seventeen participants has been interview by phone prior to commencement of the course, and will complete evaluation questionnaires at the conclusion of each course training module (generally two or three day training sessions). These questionnaires are being entered and analysed by the Success Works team. The purpose of the evaluation is to measure the success of the program in terms of whether it has met its stated objectives, and the satisfaction of participants.
Evaluation of the Establishment of a new Kinship Care Program in the Southern Metropolitan Region, Department of Human Services
Success Works is currently involved in a three year evaluation of outsourcing the Kinship Care program in the Southern Metropolitan region. Kinship Care is currently managed by the Department of Human Services (DHS), who contract some cases out to OzChild. This evaluation is ongoing, and involves surveys being distributed to case managers and Kinship Carers, and qualitative interviews being conducted with case managers at both OzChild and DHS in order to compare the experiences, costs and benefits of each model of case management.
Evaluation of the Sexual Assault Reform Strategy, Department of Justice, Victoria
Success Works has been commissioned by the Department of Justice to evaluate the Sexual Assault Reform Strategy being implemented across police, courts, public prosecutions, corrections and treatment services. The evaluation is being conducted over two years and involved formative, process and summative approaches.
The overall aim of the Sexual Assault Reform Strategy is to improve the effectiveness of the service system response to sexual offending and victims of sexual assault.
Informed by the recommendations of the 2004 Victorian Law Reform Commission Sexual Offences: Law and Procedure Final Report (2004), the Victorian Government allocated $34.2 million in 2007/08 to establish a wide range of reforms to transform the criminal justice system’s response to sexual assault.
The reform model is a based on a systems approach including improved collaboration and partnership between agencies and programs, aimed at achieving cultural change by challenging entrenched attitudes and behaviours across the criminal justice system and its associated bodies. It incorporates the Justice, Police, Corrections, and Human Services portfolios.
Evaluation of Tweddle Prisoner Parenting Programs
Success Works has recently been commissioned to evaluate Tweddle’s Parenting Programs currently delivered to inmates at Melbourne Assessment Centre and the Port Phillip Prison. This evaluation will take place over three months and consist of analysing surveys distributed over the past 12 months by Tweddle to the men who have been involved in their program; distributing and analysing surveys designed by Success Works, and conducting a workshop with participants at Port Phillip in late April/early May 2008. The evaluation will conclude with a report being delivered to Tweddle in May/June 2008.
Evaluation Services for the Court Mandated Diversion Program, Department of Justice, Tasmania
In 2007 Success Works was commissioned to undertake an 18 month evaluation of the pilot project of Tasmania’s Court Mandated Diversion for Drug Offenders (CMD) program. The program is Tasmania’s response to the National Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative.
Success Works has drawn on our extensive knowledge of national and international trends in therapeutic jurisprudence as well as knowledge of the needs of the program’s client base – adults with substance abuse issues – to develop an appropriate evaluation framework.
To date, the project has involved extensive site visits to Tasmania to speak to key stakeholders, including, magistrates, police, lawyers, Alcohol and Drug practitioners and offenders who have been diverted into drug treatment. A quantitative data analysis will complement and support the qualitative information provided from the site visits.. A number of progress reports have been submitted to the Tasmanian Department of Justice, with the final report due in July 2008.
Youth Strategy, Moorabool Shire
The Shire of Moorabool has been commissioned by Success Works to develop a Youth Strategy that takes into account the experiences and expectations of young people from diverse and distinct parts of the Shire. Moorabool Shire is facing a population boom with an influx of people relocating from Melbourne in search of a ‘tree change’ lifestyle and/or affordable housing. Anecdotally it is believed that young people tend to leave the Shire in search of work or further education, once they finish high school. There is also a large commuter population where the adults commute out for work, and the children and young people commute to either Ballarat or Melbourne for school. It has therefore been challenging for the Shire to ‘tap’ into the resource their young people represent, and fully assess their needs. Success Works has to date completed a demographic analysis of the Shire and a policy analysis of the relevant issues, and is currently mid-way through a series of workshops in local communities, in order to develop a Strategy that is inclusive and Shire-wide.
Expert Panels
Financial/project/program management and governance, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMIA)
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMIA) has a Deed of Standing Offer with Success Works as part of its Australia-wide
Panel of Consultants. Success Works was secured as part of this panel on the basis of our demonstrated expertise in a range of fields relevant
to the Australian government's Indigenous affairs arrangements. To achieve this standing, Success Works met the following criteria:
- Financial management/accounting/business service and advice for community organisations, community councils, etc (including advice on specific issues as well as working in a broader advisory role for specific periods of time).
- Financial management training and skills transfer (both one-off training tailored to specific organisation/community circumstances/needs and longer term skills transfer approaches).
- Financial systems implementation, advice or improvements.
- Business restructuring assistance, advice and planning.
- Grant administrators/controllers (to work on ICC/OIPC's behalf to manage the finances of an organisation/community for a time until it can be handed back to community control).
- Financial auditors (to provide expert audit advice and services to community organisations; this will not include forensic audit).
- Corporate governance advice and training for effective financial and operational management.
- Community governance advice - for example advice/training about roles and responsibilities of community boards, councils, etc (including in financial matters).
- Project/program management and advice/training (including short term assistance in running projects/programs on the ground in crisis situations).
- Advice and training for community organisations regarding contract management, human resources management and workplace relations, organisational planning and change management processes.
The team worked in close consultation with the Director, Strategic Projects, Policy and Strategic Projects Division over the duration of the project which was completed at the end of September 2004.
Risk/Crisis Assessment and Management, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMIA)
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMIA) has a Deed of Standing Offer with Success Works as part of its Australia-wide
Panel of Consultants. Success Works was secured as part of this panel on the basis of our demonstrated expertise in a range of fields relevant t
o the Australian government's Indigenous affairs arrangements. To achieve this standing, Success Works met the following criteria:
- Major assessment of activities of government investments.
- Risk assessment and development of risk management plans to assist ICCs/OIPC in designing appropriate responses to crisis situations in communities.
- Crisis response and intervention advice, planning and coordination (this may include working with ICC Managers, Indigenous communities and other stakeholders such as State Governments to develop the appropriate strategy) as well as on the ground coordination for a specified time.
Facilitation of Community Development and Engagement, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMIA) (current)
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMIA) has a Deed of Standing Offer with Success Works as part of its Australia-wide
Panel of Consultants. Success Works was secured as part of this panel on the basis of our demonstrated expertise in a range of fields relevant
to the Australian government's Indigenous affairs arrangements. To achieve this standing, Success Works met the following criteria:
- Assistance for ICCs
Support facilitation of governments' engagement with communities including through cultural appropriateness training, negotiating and partnering in a culturally appropriate way, and community development training for ICC Mangers and staff.
Training and advice for ICC / other agency staff in negotiating and developing Shared Responsibility Agreements with Indigenous communities.
- Assistance for communities
SRA engagement/negotiation stage: assistance/facilitation for communities in priority setting, developing responses based on shared responsibility and negotiating with governments.
SRA implementation stage: support for communities to implement, manage and monitor agreed shared responsibility activities.
Facilitating/coordinating communities' access to specialised expertise in community development, including scoping project proposals.
Mediation and other appropriate support for community members to enable inclusive engagement in the SRA process.
- Support for community leaders - short to medium term (not a structured leadership program)
Coaching for community leaders to support SRA development and implementation work.
Leadership development, mentoring and training for community leaders (including short term intense support for leaders on the ground in crisis situations).
- Regional level support
Facilitate engagement between communities, and between government and communities in the development and implementation of regional representative networks.
Provide advice and support to government agencies, ICCs and communities on the development of Regional Partnership Agreement.
OIPC/ICC Staff Training and Development, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMIA)
- Support for OIPC and ICC Managers to create leadership teams and resolve barriers to effective whole of government collaboration in the implementation of the new Indigenous affairs arrangements.
- Training (including train-the-trainer) on the new arrangements for Indigenous affairs, including on broader issues impacting on the new arrangements (such as welfare reform, strategic indicator framework, accountability frameworks etc).
- Coaching/mentoring and leadership development for key staff responsible for driving the implementation of new arrangements in Indigenous affairs.