As we come to the end of another year—our 10th year of The Social Deck—we’re reflecting on what we’ve done and the impacts we’ve had, the things we got right and things we can do even better.
And when you’ve visited more than 40 locations and engaged with more than 14,000 people in a year, there’s a lot to reflect on! Scroll down for more stats from our 2024 annual snapshot.
As a team we often talk about ‘The Social Deck way’. At the core, including in our manifesto, is to be humble and considered, to do what is right over what is easy, and to take care of each other. We are continuously learning from each other and from others we work with, particularly experts and those with lived experience.
We’re proud to be evolving and making a bigger impact year on year.
As our Projects and Change Consultant, Lucy, says:
‘I feel so proud to be part of a team who is doing so much to shape public policy for good.’
In 2024, we contributed our expertise again to some very big issues and challenges in social, health, education and disability policy.
With 36 projects across 26 different clients, it’s hard to mention only a few. But highlights included:
- Partnering to engage people with disability, and the disability sector, on reviews and reforms for the NDIS and disability policy more broadly. This included our work with the NDIS Provider and Worker Registration Taskforce under the amazing leadership of the Chair, Natalie Wade. The experience and results working with the Taskforce was one we’re very proud of.
- Continuing to engage communities across Australia on reforms and programs relating to improving aged care. A new part of this was 15 pop-ups in communities across Australia helping to raise awareness of and encourage volunteering in the Aged Care Volunteer Visitor Scheme. Volunteering is an area our team is passionate about.
- Co-designing a new Communication Strategy and resources with First Nations aged care stakeholders to improve awareness and engagement with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission as new quality standards and the new Aged Care Act come in to place.
- Wrapping up our support of the National Disability Research Partnership after working with them through their transition to the new CEO and Board. As a key initiative under Australia’s Disability Strategy (which we led 5 years ago), it was important for us to see this come to life and to realise the continued growth and impact the partnership is able to have.
Making sure these areas of government policy are informed by the voices of those who are impacted by the decisions made remains at the core of what we do.
Project Officer, Anna, worked on the consultations to design future Foundational Supports. She’s reflected that:
‘I am most proud of how TSD were able to reach people in a way that met their needs. Whether that was attending a face-to-face workshop, choosing to join a discussion online, or speaking to a team member over the phone, it allowed for us to meet people where they were at, and engage in a way that was sensitive and meaningful.’
As we look forward to 2025, one of our biggest challenges is to remain a smaller, boutique agency with a focus on purpose and flexibility, even while we grow our experience, reputation and the work we do across many sectors. With so many issues we want to have an impact on, our focus is to make sure we’re continuing to deliver thoughtful, quality work, and to take the time to really listen and understand the issues.
As our Impact and Analysis Consultant, Alix, put it:
‘I'm really proud of how dedicated our team is, particularly to supporting the people we engage with. I've seen my colleagues rise to meet challenges and dig in when the pressure's on, because they care about giving people a voice and making a positive impact.'
Download 2024 Annual Snapshot as PDF
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