A case for regional readiness: Ready Communities white paper and impact report 2025

We released the 2025 Ready Communities White Paper and Impact Report this week (Download here). Co-authored by Chad Renando , Kerry Grace and Geoff Woolcock , the report provides a point-in-time review of place-based development, insights from the 2024 Ready Macleay program in Kempsey, NSW, and lessons learned that are being applied in 2025 in Grafton, NSW.

The report is the first in an annual series of commentary on place-based change, reflections on outcomes and impacts from Ready Communities work, and transparency of what was learned and changes for the year forward.

As noted in the report's Acknowledgement page, the report draws on insights, inspiration, and support from early partners including University of Southern Queensland , Siddle Family Foundation , FRRR (Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal) , and Learning the Macleay .

Here I share some of the thinking behind the report. I am keen to hear your reflections in the spirit of sharing, learning, encouraging, and advocating for further development across place-based change.

Part A: Community readiness and place-based design

With the first of the three-part report, we aim to set the groundwork for what is meant by certain terms, examples of others doing similar work, and a framework for thinking about place-based programs. Concepts like wellbeing, readiness, and resilience can mean different things to both individuals and communities. The terms can also be used in different ways in programs, grants, and research. We establish why we use the term "readiness" while acknowledging the value in other terms.

We also establish the need for place-based development, grounded in the practical challenges of regional inequality and the need to invest in what is referred to as "the space between". We acknowledge that many others are working in this space and provide a snapshot map of programs across Australia. We provide an overview of frameworks used in place-based design with a focus section on one of the more prominent approaches of collective impact. We also acknowledge the barriers to place-based development and call out several caveats and considerations to the work to support people engaging with their eyes open.

With a shared understanding of concepts, we provide an outline of a standard place-based program. We acknowledge that these will vary by program. The intent is to provide a research-backed rationale behind why each element is important to place-based delivery. The structure acts as a guide that can be adapted to a given context, while the underlying research helps inform decisions on program adaptation.

As a transition from general place-making concepts to specifics in the Ready Communities approach, we close out Part A with the introduction of the Readiness Index as seen through the Ready Communities program logic. The five factors of the Readiness Index are proposed as enabling conditions that create longer-term impacts.

Our thesis is that sustained impacts are realised by first focusing on enabling conditions in a community. Conversely, an overt focus on impacts without support from enabling conditions will see impacts drop off and have a greater likelihood of a community seeing undesirable and unintended consequences. This is not to say that the need for measuring impacts is not acknowledged, with 120 indicators across six dimensions of longer-term resilience incorporated in the approach.

The Readiness Index is further described through the 50 indicators across the five factors. The section closes out with a consideration of how the Readiness Index might apply to a focus on housing.

Part B: Ready Macleay 2024 reflections

The next section of the report is a practical review of our work in Kempsey in 2024 through the Ready Macleay program and the Social Impact in the Regions conference. We walk through each element of a place-based framework described in Part A, including region selection, initial engagement, mapping, readiness events, focus areas, initiatives, and leadership.

One thing that stood out to me in the review was the number of connections made during the engagement (24,345 individual connections). This does not include the additional or cross-over connections made in the 2023 and 2024 Social Impact in the Regions conference. These connections create a longer-term impact when combined with other program elements, including greater clarity, building capability and capacity, focus areas for collaboration, and opportunities for advocacy and promotion.

A key area of focus in the program was our approach to initiatives. Over 70 initiatives were identified and then tracked across the five focus areas. While there was value, there was also time spent in curating initiatives that were not aligned with where Ready Communities could have the most impact. This informed changes to the program for 2025.

Indicators were developed to understand outcomes from the Social Impact in the Regions conference aligned to the Readiness Index. The results were segmented based on whether the delegates might be considered as 'local' (within a 150km radius) and whether the delegates had participated in the pre-conference Ready Macleay program.

Delegates overall gained the most from connecting with people and learning new information. Delegates who lived within 150km of the conference were more likely to build capability through practical skills to apply in their community, find opportunities to expand their networks, improve their ability to work as an ecosystem builder, and leverage the conference for advocacy and promotion. Delegates outside the 150km radius of the conference were more likely to connect with people in their field of interest and learn how to authentically work in regional communities. Delegates who participated in the Ready Macleay program provided an average of 12% higher rating from pre-conference expectations to post-event realised outcomes.

The section concludes with an overview of the economic impacts of the conference and case studies mapping activities to outcomes to impact. While longer-term impacts continue to be monitored, the report shows what will be expanded upon in future reviews.

Part C: Lessons Learned and What's Next

The final section briefly highlights changes being implemented in 2025, including the shift away from initiatives to emphasise local Impact Facilitators or Focus Area Leads, the establishment and formalisation of the Readiness Index, and the development of Impact Labs integrated into the Social Impact in the Regions conference. We conclude with possible takeaways for different stakeholder groups, including policymakers, practitioners, funders, philanthropy, and local communities.

The report captures insights at a point in time, even as we continue to develop and evolve the program based on feedback. The report has been complete and in final edit and design for close to two months. In that time, the Readiness Index has been refined and the engagement model scaled with a plan for a potential of up to five concurrent communities in 2026.

You can download the full report here. Feedback and comments are welcome as we collectively work towards advancing approaches to place-based development.