Opportunities in Carlton
Notable in this report are the different measures which show concrete evidence of
outcomes, but also capture the experience and feelings of those involved about their
involvement. On the one hand OFC has have enabled over 70 new initiatives, 6,000
hours of volunteers time, $370,000 of in kind support, over $165,000 in grants and $1.1 in government funding. And there is new and upgraded physical assets across Carlton such as the Kathleen Syme Library and Community Centre, Carlton Baths, Carlton public housing redevelopment, to name a few.
But the less tangible aspects documented here are to me, the more extraordinary achievement. A new-found sense of social inclusion, connection and pathways to learning and employment have grown from within a community identified as experiencing entrenched disadvantage. These are recognised as key drivers of place-based, community-led solutions that will achieve collective impact, local resilience and shared futures. And our linking of social and environmental sustainability leaves a stronger, more motivated community equipped to deliver an essential ingredient: local know-how.
Sustainability, transparency and local governance will be priorities as the project wraps up in June, and transitions to an ongoing way of working. But the project also provides a legacy that showcases how to deliver innovation, investment partnerships and local decision-making for the benefit of the wider community and we hope our findings will be shared elsewhere.
Finally I would like to express deep appreciation for our key supporters and funders, the City of Melbourne and the Victorian State Government, and those at the Inter- Government group for their enduring commitment to collaboration.
The Carlton Local Agency Networks have nurtured and inspired the Carlton community for the longest time, assisting over 250 community participants in this project, (and indeed more), who are at the heart of what has been achieved.
Melanie Raymond
Chair - Opportunities for Carlton