Brenton Caffin is the founding CEO of The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI), which exists to identify and support innovative ideas, methods and people to accelerate positive social change in Australia.
Brenton began his career in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, later consulting to Australian and British governments on public policy, performance improvement and change management. He returned to South Australia to pursue his passion for public sector reform through executive positions with the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Government Reform Commission and WorkCover.
Brenton has degrees in economics and international relations and a Master of Public Administration from Flinders University, where his research focused on public sector innovation.
Speaking On:
Welcome remarks from the Chair
Keynote: Co-designing thriving solutions
Gill Callister commenced as Secretary of Victoria’s Department of Human Services in August 2009.
Gill has had a long career in human services in both the public and community sectors. She began her career with a ten-year stint in the community sector, working with children, young people and families.
Gill commenced with the Department of Human Services in the early 1990s and has held responsibilities across the child protection, community services and mental health programs.
As Executive Director for the related portfolios, Gill has lead major policy, legislative and service delivery reforms for the child protection, family services and mental health systems in Victoria. She was Deputy Secretary at Skills Victoria prior to her current appointment as Secretary.
Gill holds Bachelor degrees in Arts and Social Work with Honours. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (Victoria) and a Board Member of Swinburne University Council.
Gill is passionate about social justice and improving public policy and service delivery and she is a frequent public speaker on these issues. She is steadfast in her commitment to the St Kilda Football Club, adores her family and enjoys cooking, camping and fashion.
Speaking On:
Keynote: Perspectives from the Secretary of DHS Victoria
For the past 25 years Elaine Henry has been the Chief Executive Officer of two of Australia’s major not-for-profit organisations; The Smith Family (TSF) and the Cancer Council (NSW).
From 1998 Elaine led the transformation of TSF to concentrate on the root causes of disadvantage rather than ameliorating the symptoms using the power of education to disrupt the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Previously, from 1985, Elaine led the development of the Cancer Council (NSW) from a small statutory authority into a world acclaimed cancer control agency.
During her career, Elaine has sought to influence public policy development by working on numerous and diverse committees and boards at the state, national and international levels. As part of a social movement over the last decade, she was a founding Director of Social Ventures Australia, founding Chair of Nonprofit Australia, deputy Chair of the Community Council for Australia, an inaugural Director of the Australia Research Alliance for Children and Youth (which she currently chairs) etc. She continues in the role of Non-Executive Director of many groups such as the Australian Social Innovation Exchange, is a Governor of the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and serves on numerous Advisory Boards such as the Global Foundation, the Australian School of Business, the Centre for Social Impact, the Financial Literacy Board and the Australian Statistics Advisory Board.
Speaking On:
Keynote: Making co-design & co-production a reality
Department of Premier and Cabinet, SA
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Sandy Pitcher is a Deputy Chief Executive in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, responsible for the SA Cabinet Office and the State’s Social Inclusion Unit.
Previously she was Executive Director, Office of the Executive Committee of Cabinet, within the SA Cabinet Office, where she worked on the development of the 2009 State Reform Agenda and led the across Government implementation of South Australia’s Strategic Plan.
Sandy joined Cabinet Office at the end of January 2009, following a busy three years as the Director, Office for Women. In this role, Sandy led the implementation of the State Government’s plan for South Australia to become a national leader in gender equity. She was a delegate to the social inclusion stream of the Australia 2020 Summit in Canberra in 2008.
Sandy worked for four years in London, primarily as the head of Corporate and Parliamentary Affairs in the UK’s Commission for Racial Equality.
Educated at the University of Adelaide, Sandy has degrees in law and the humanities. She was raised in Mannum, South Australia and has a 4 year old daughter, Tilly.
Speaking On:
Co-designing South Australia’s Strategic Plan
Working with citizens to improve policy & service delivery
Government and the Not-for-Profit sector are increasingly recognising the benefits of co-design and co-production.
The question now is not whether to pursue co-design and co-production, but how to do this most effectively.
Co-design and co-production can be defined as a systematic approach to understanding citizens and working with them to design, shape and deliver better policies and services.
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