Empowerment Ecosystems is being built incrementally and intentionally, starting with the community and making our way outwards.

We are currently focused on finalising our operating model as part of ongoing research we are doing under the guidance of the Melbourne Social Equity Institute at the University of Melbourne.

Our current focus is on establishing strong local governance, forming the right community-based partnerships and building a shared vision and understanding internally for what community self-determination and full participation looks like, before inviting mainstream organisations to work with us.

Below is how different groups can engage at this stage.

Community Members

We are currently establishing Community Governance Councils in three regions:

  • Melbourne Northwest – recruitment is underway

  • Melbourne West – recruitment will open from April

  • Melbourne Southeast – recruitment planned for the second half of the year

Community Governance Councils are made up of local people who help set priorities, guide direction, and hold the work accountable to lived experience. These roles involve real responsibility, not symbolic consultation. Members are expected to maintain active connections with their communities and contribute to decision-making over time.

If you are interested in participating or learning more about what is involved, you can register your interest through our contact form.

Community-Led Organisations

We are actively in conversation with community-led organisations about partnership opportunities.

At this stage, partnerships are focused on alignment, shared values, and practical collaboration rather than scale. We are particularly interested in organisations that already work closely with their communities and are open to shared governance, shared learning and long-term collaboration.

If you represent a community-led organisation and would like to explore working together, please get in touch via the contact form.

Service Providers

Formal partnerships with service providers are subject to a structured community-led assessment process and are currently by invitation only. This reflects the level of community accountability, participation, and governance alignment required within the Empowerment Ecosystems model.

An open Expression of Interest process will launch in late 2026. This will include clear eligibility criteria, expectations around community participation, and information about the minimum standards required of partner organisations.

We will also run an information session outlining:

  • the community accountability and participation frameworks we use

  • what partnership requires in practice

  • the support available to organisations seeking to strengthen their own accountability to communities

You can register to be notified when the EOI process and information session open.

Place-Based Collaboration

At the same time, we recognise that meaningful work often happens at the team level. While formal organisational partnerships are limited at this stage, we are open to collaborating with individual teams and practitioners on shared goals within their existing work. These collaborations do not constitute a formal partnership but do require clear scope, mutual accountability, and an agreed memorandum of understanding.

Funders

We welcome conversations with funders and supporters who are interested in backing community-led governance, long-term capacity building, and locally anchored economic models.

Our current priority is resourcing the establishment of Community Governance Councils and the systems that enable them to operate effectively over time.

Please contact us to arrange a conversation.