In the midst of a dual cost-of-living and housing crisis, our services are in demand more than ever. While we have lived through challenging times, we are now addressing critical aspects of the sector’s future and are looking at ways to advance excellence and better support the community.

At the forefront of these discussions, is the central theme to our Conference, Innovating Together, Leaving No One Behind. A timely reflection of the ongoing evolution of our sector.

WACOSS is pleased to announce that Monday the 12^th May will be a half-day workshop presented in partnership with the Council of Aboriginal Services Western Australia (CASWA), and will focus on how, as a sector, we can apply the Priority Reforms of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap to deliver better outcomes for Aboriginal people, their families and communities.

The program will focus on the how the National Agreement on Closing the Gap sets a foundation for ways of working with Aboriginal people that prioritise equal partnerships, ACCO sector strengthening, and sharing of information and data. The half-day workshop provides an important opportunity for Aboriginal people, Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations and Community Services Organisations to come together to discuss ways of putting the National Agreement into action .

Day two and three of the program will focus on three key themes; emerging technologies and their impact on the community and the sector, innovation in service delivery and wellbeing for all.

We are seeing emerging technologies that have transformative potential, with their advantages and their implications, there are opportunities to harness emergent technologies to address systemic inequalities and capitalise on their benefits, for enhanced service delivery and operational efficiency. When we explore what these technologies look like, we can identify the opportunities and the challenges, and how they can be effectively integrated to better improve the lives of everyone.

Service design and delivery centres the exploration of new frontiers in how services are being conceived, funded, and delivered. Innovative practices can lead to significant impact and lead to greater inclusion, but the key is to seek innovative approaches, and practical examples of innovation.

Wellbeing measurement is a much broader way of capturing societal impact, that can help us shape effective policy and governance. Measuring what matters helps guide more informed policy and investment decisions, so that services are delivering programs with funding that is directed towards the outcomes that truly impact the wellbeing for everyone.

Services need to innovate, but not for just for innovation’s sake. It is central to the sustainability, efficiency and the intrinsic wellbeing of the people the community services sector support every single day.

Now is the time for innovation. Now is the time to leave no one behind.