Client profile

Kidsafe Victoria was established in 1979 as part of the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Australia. It is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the prevention of unintentional death and injury to children through education, advocacy, and research.

Project context

With limited staffing, resources, and a funding turnover of less than $500K, Kidsafe Victoria delivers a state-wide service, including:

• The planning, delivery and evaluation of several state-wide campaigns;
• A phone and email advisory service;
• An innovative drop-in community resource centre at the Monash Children’s Hospital;
• An outreach program that provides over 250 one-hour face to face interactive injury prevention sessions annually across the state;
• Maintenance of an active social media presence; and
• Attendance at various expos and safety product sales.

Since Kidsafe Victoria’s establishment, the number of children in Australia killed by unintentional injury has reduced from 750 per year to just over 150 per year. However, Victoria’s population is growing at an unprecedented rate and Kidsafe Victoria’s resources are not capable of keeping up with that growth – particularly in regional areas where access and reach are difficult. Kidsafe Victoria was seeking to maintain an efficient and sustainable organisation that can deliver lifesaving injury prevention resources and campaigns to more people in more languages, in more diverse locations, to prevent death and injury to Victorian children.

Solution

Kidsafe Victoria engaged Spark to conduct an innovative, strategic refresh. Given the organisation’s size, a multi-month strategic planning process was not viable. As such, Spark worked with Kidsafe Victoria on an accelerated strategic planning process, which was centred around two strategy workshops with the Board and Executive. Given Kidsafe Victoria’s remit and resourcing, prioritisation was a key focus of discussion, as well as how to work most effectively and efficiently. Partnerships and channels to market emerged as critical strategic levers for Kidsafe Victoria over the coming years. Overall, the result is a compelling strategic plan with buy-in from the Kidsafe Victoria Board and Executive, which articulates the organisation’s aspirations and priorities.