I have had the fortune of collaborating with VACCA's Business Development & Services Implementation Team (BDSI) to develop a set of three process documents including flow diagrams to streamline their grant assessment, development and project implementation/handover processes. This was a great opportunity for VACCA's BDSI team to formalise their processes that underlie one of the most important aspects of the organisation, bringing in new funding.
For a busy team, it is often difficult to carve out time for process development. While the team have been working intuitively to complete this work, as the team is growing, this represented an opportunity to formalise these processes. This work will in-turn help to strengthen the onboarding process and to ensure all members of the team are working according to the same processes that will achieve the best results. As an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO) we made sure to embed processes that promote self-determination, ensuring the input of Aboriginal staff into all program development and grant-assessment processes.
I collaborated with Family Life’s Chief Strategy Officer to review Family Life’s existing organisational model and to explore opportunities to embed collective impact theory and approaches into day-to-day service delivery. I drew on a wide variety of collective impact literature to determine key strategies and categorised potential actions according to the Tamarack Institute’s Innovation Ambition Continuum to anticipate timeframes for implementation. I also conducted a rapid review of frameworks for selecting and planning for organisational innovations to aid Family Life’s future innovative decision-making.
Alyssa is a skilled analytical and conceptual developer and writer who easily attunes to an organisational context and delivers high quality material. Alyssa has a great skill of being able to turn complex ideas into easily digestible content. In a very short period of time, Alyssa was able to understand what we required and deliver a number of pieces of important work.
Emily McDonald, Chief Strategy Officer | Family Life
I had the pleasure of supporting Lighthouse Partnership's evaluation of the RUN for Refugees adult education program. RUN for Refugees is a leading Refugee support agency based in Hong Kong aimed at increasing the resilience and independence of people seeking asylum and refugees through sports and education. RUN sought the support of Lighthouse Partnerships to identify key outcomes of RUN's adult education program, the program's relevance, its coherence with other internal programs and services and key learnings to promote future development. I supported this project by conducting a focus group with RUN's Education Program participants to inform determine their experience and to collate constructive feedback for future program development. This focus group was conducted in accordance with trauma informed practice principles to ensure participant safety, including a pre-focus group briefing to ensure informed consent was provided.
Working with Alyssa was very smooth. We greatly appreciated her reliability and flexibility, clear communication and follow up. The fact she has skills and competency in a wide range of areas made her a valuable addition to our team.
Jemma Hollonds, Principal Consultant| Lighthouse Partnerships
I partnered with Interplay Consulting to support a remote Aboriginal corporation based in the East Kimberleys to write and develop a series of funding submissions in support of their strategic initiatives for 2022 and beyond. This work included developing a business case and economic rationale to promote their organisational services to philanthropic funders. We were successful in securing funds to deliver projects that will directly benefit the local Aboriginal community, creating employment opportunities and protecting country through infrastructure upgrades and expansion.
I contracted Alyssa for some consulting work in 2020, and two years later I’m thrilled to still have Alyssa to rely on. Alyssa's work quality is to a very high standard- well researched, polished, and delivered to the right pitch for the given audience. I highly recommend Alyssa for any consulting work, particularly in grant writing, NGO briefings and social services.
Samantha Betts, Owner| Interplay Consulting