Partnering while contracting: the communities for children initiative

Abstract

In November, 2005, the Federal Government awarded Mission Australia a three million dollar contract to develop services for children 0 - 5 years and their families in the Cairns South locality. Following the departmental planning process, Mission Australia created the Cairns South Communities for Children Initiative. This initiative follows a funding brokerage model in which a community committee designs local activities for children and families to be delivered by community partners and one nonprofit organisation contracts other nonprofit organisations to deliver these activities. This presentation documents the processes of partnering between the various players through the stages of contracting completed to date.