EP#135: Giving better: holistic community engagement with Michelle Steele
Work with Purpose: A podcast about the Australian Public SectorShow Notes
On this episode, Michelle Steele from the Paul Ramsay Foundation talks us through community engagement from a philanthropic and public sector perspective, highlighting the value of listening instead of coming with solutions. When governments engage with communities, it’s usually about a specific program or policy – but what if the first goal was to genuinely listen to the community’s broader needs? On this episode of Work with Purpose, led by host David Pembroke, CEO of contentgroup, Michelle Steele, Chief First Nations Officer at the Paul Ramsey Foundation, draws on her experience working in the public service and philanthropy to explore what the sectors can learn from each other. Michelle also uncovers the power imbalance between funders and communities, and why positive dissent can be crucial to having genuine conversations and slowing down when it’s most needed. Key tips: The philanthropic sector can derisk and scale ideas – make sure to learn from their case studies Frank and fearless advice applies in community engagement, too. When you engage, make sure you’re open and allow others to be open as well When you try to build consensus, pausing and slowing down isn’t always a bad thing. Make sure you stop to listen.
Show notes: First Nations targeted grant round | Paul Ramsay Foundation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Work with Purpose: A podcast about the Australian Public Sector
After 164 episodes, we bid farewell to Work with Purpose. Marking this special occasion, IPAA ACT CEO Kate Driver turns the microphone around on host David Pembroke, CEO of contentgroup, and one of the podcast’s first guests, IPAA National President Andrew Metcalfe AO.
On the penultimate episode of Work with Purpose, Jaala Hinchcliffe, Secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, shines a light on the important, yet often unseen work of DPS, and discusses why integrity is not simply something people have or lack, but rather a skill that must be practised.
Governments generate endless information, but so much of it goes unseen. So, how do we turn it into content people actually care about?
What happens when senior leaders step out of meeting rooms and into frontline service environments?
In this episode of Work with Purpose, we discuss how a widening gap between external change and internal capability in the public sector is becoming a major threat to both public trust and effective government. As governments navigate social media distortion, geopolitical instability, cognitive warfare and rapid advances in AI, many public institutions are still operating in rigid, slow-moving ways better suited to an earlier era.