The positive outcomes of a collaborative and coordinated approach we’ve participated in to strengthen family relationships in the City of Yarra

We’re pleased to share a new evaluation report on a collaborative, place-based approach to strengthening family relationships in the City of Yarra, that we participated in from 2017-2024.

Our partnership with Yarra Communities that Care® (CTC) involved the collaborative delivery of evidence-based social and emotional literacy messaging to families in the City of Yarra. We have led the ‘strengthening family relationship’ priority area for Yarra CTC since 2017 by providing a dedicated role to coordinate a collaborative network of Tuning in to Teens™ facilitators involving multiple partner agencies.

There is an increased focus on collaborative place-based approaches at the federal, state and local levels as a promising strategy for addressing complex social problems. Previous evaluations and literature identify successful collaboration and a strong support entity or ‘backbone’ as key enabling factors that make place-based approaches successful. The collaborative place-based approach to strengthening family relationships in Yarra provides a local example of this.

The Yarra CTC Facilitator Network serves as a valuable template for implementing best practices for place-based coalitions due to its focus on collaboration and fostering a sense of community. The Network exemplified the transformative power of establishing a closely connected coalition of facilitators and stakeholders.

This report is a first step in defining, evaluating and developing our approach to place-based prevention and early intervention initiatives to strengthen family relationships and improve wellbeing.

Media enquiries
Sandra Opoku, Senior Manager Evaluation and Social Impact, Relationships Australia Victoria
Ph: (03) 8573 2222