Our Story
Empowerment Ecosystems was created to address a simple but persistent problem: communities most affected by disadvantage are rarely given the opportunity to meaningfully shape the decisions that are made about them.
This work grew out of more than a decade of grassroots engagement with migrant and refugee communities in Melbourne, Australia. Across different communities and programs, we kept seeing the same pattern: communities possess rich insight and lived expertise, yet are often only treated as recipients of programs rather than as people who should help shape them. Decisions about what matter, what is funded and how support is delivered are usually made outside the community.
This is not because communities lack capability, motivation or leadership.
The problem is structural.
Funding models, governance arrangements and the narrow focus on accountability to funders (rather than to communities themselves) across the community sector make it difficult for any decision-making power to be shared with the people most affected. Programs are often delivered to communities rather than shaped by them, and organisations are rarely required to answer back to the people they serve in any meaningful way.
Community voices are gathered through meetings, advisory groups or consultations, then filtered through pre-determined organisational decisions and priorities rather than being sought in the earlier stages, when funders and organisations determine the strategic direction of their work.
Empowerment Ecosystems responds to this reality by focusing on community development infrastructure rather than individual programs.
Instead of delivering services, we work with communities to build the structures needed for shared decision-making, leadership development, local knowledge creation and long-term collective action.
We see community members not as beneficiaries or occasional partners, but as drivers and co-owners of the systems they live within. Other actors, including large not-for-profits, funders and government agencies, are invited to support and align with community-led priorities rather than control them.
We work alongside communities to build generative social change systems, where power is shared with the people about whom decisions are being made. This means governance that is open, inclusive and answerable to the community. It also means being honest about what isn’t working and being willing to try different approaches.
While our work is grounded in specific places, our aim is broader.
We are paying close attention to what works, where it falls short and why. We share what we learn so others can adapt the model to their own contexts. Our goal is a shift in how participation and empowerment are understood, from being consulted at the edges to having real ownership at the centre.
What makes an empowerment ecosystem different?
Where many initiatives focus on program delivery, an empowerment ecosystem is concerned with developing socioeconomic infrastructure that shape outcomes — decision-making power, ownership, and accountability. Our model brings together five connected areas of work: intergenerational leadership, local economic participation, Intercultural connection; community-led learning and research; and community place-making.
1. A financial model that supports independence
Many community organisations rely on short-term grants or external funding that shifts with political cycles and donor priorities. This makes it difficult to plan long-term in a way that priorities what communities need and aspire to.
Enkindle Enterprises supports the development of income-generating community-owned businesses. These enterprises create employment and livelihoods for community members while also generating revenue for community initiatives. Profits are shared between founders, workers and local projects, building financial independence directly into the structure of community empowerment.
2. Governance that builds leadership, not just representation
All too often, organisations seek community input from a small group of people from a community who are already familiar with professional or institutional systems, and comfortable engaging with them. Few organisations are equipped to engage a wider cross-section of their communities by supporting community members to step into leadership and decision-making roles.
Through the Changemakers Collective, we support community members to move into these roles through training, mentoring and hands-on experience, ensuring that the full diversity of community views and experiences are captured in decision-making.
3. Intercultural dialogue as a core operating principle
For many migrant and refugee communities, culture, faith and worldview shape how trust is built and how leadership is experienced. Through Bridge Under the Same Sky, we embed intercultural and intergenerational dialogue into the design and delivery of programs and services, equipping communities to lead from their own values and helping institutions to engage more honestly with cultural difference.
4. Community knowledge treated as an asset
Research and evaluation are often designed and led by outsiders, with limited input from the people most affected. Knowledge Workshop supports community members to define research priorities, gather insight and contribute to public knowledge. Communities are supported to generate knowledge that informs policy, practice and public conversation.
5. Community-owned spaces, held locally
Each Empowerment Ecosystems initiative is anchored in a Changemakers House. These are locally held spaces where people meet, learn, work and organise together. They are shared environments that support governance, leadership and collective action over time, grounded in everyday community life.
The Collective Inheritance Framework
Unity in Diversity | Dialogue and mutual understanding | Collaboration | Individual and Collective Empowerment
Our work is guided by our four core values and one simple idea: wellbeing is a shared right, and the future is a shared responsibility.
The Collective Inheritance Framework brings together collective wellbeing and collective purpose. It recognises that communities thrive when dignity is protected, contribution is possible, and responsibility is shared across generations.
This framework shapes how we approach leadership, governance and learning across the ecosystem.