In case you didn’t hear the big news…..The Social Deck turned 10 this year!

To celebrate, we gathered the team in Noosa and used our time together to reflect on what we have built over the years and plan the exciting opportunities that are yet to come.  

Mel Butcher, Director of Impact and Engagement and Dr Isaac Baker, Senior Research and Behaviour Change Consultant enjoying the Glass House Mountains view.

Over two days of festivities, we visited the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve in Maleny for a walk and some delicious morning tea, before brushing up on our artistic skills with an activity run by our very own Creative Manager, Kirsten!

Then we headed to Falls Farm in Mapleton, for a guided tour through their sustainable farm, before heading to the Mapleton Pub to enjoy the paddock to plate experience from this same farm with our delicious meal.

Our second day started with a fierce table tennis competition, before utilising our time together to plan and collaborate on various current projects and in our plans for the future.  

The company, which was once just Steve and Kate over in the USA, has grown to a team of 23. The team is spread all across the east coast of Australia, with a variety of skilled individuals looking to make a difference in research, communications and engagement.

As we carry the momentum from our busy first 6 months of the year, we look forward to a final few months of 2024 as we deliver some of our largest pieces of work yet!

A group photo of The Social Deck team during their walk at Mary Cairncross Reserve in Maleny.

What we've been working on

Supporting community engagement on Foundational Supports

We're proud to be supporting the Department of Social Services (DSS) with community engagement to inform the design and delivery of Foundational Supports.

Foundational Supports are additional supports for people with disability that sit alongside the NDIS and other services in the community. 

Our team have been visiting communities across 4 states over the past 2 weeks to talk to people who would access and benefit form Foundational Supports and organisations and stakeholders.  We’re working with our lived experience facilitators to deliver a range of online and in person events. We've also built an online ideas wall to help people share their ideas and experiences and discuss with others. Check it out – and a big shout out to Social Pinpoint on this awesome tool!

If you want to know more or get involved visit www.engage.dss.gov.au/Foundational-Supports

Aged Care Volunteer Visitor Scheme engagements

Have you ever thought about being a volunteer visiting older people in aged care?

Our team has been visiting locations across the country to set up ‘volunteer pop-ups’ to help raise awareness about the Aged Care Volunteer Visitor’s Scheme (ACVVS).  The ACVVS is a national program that supports volunteer visits to provide friendship and companionship to older people who are feeling isolated or lonely. 

On the left, our Project and Change Consultant, Lucy Wilson, at the Let's Go Greek Festival volunteer pop-up
in Parramatta, Sydney.

We’re proud to be working with a few of the more than 140 dedicated auspices who recruit and support volunteers in their local communities.

There are around 4,000 volunteer vacancies in the program. The pop-ups aim to increase awareness of the Scheme and lift the number of people who volunteer. 

This grassroots style of engagement is an important strategy to reach people in popular community locations, including at markets, libraries, shopping and recreation centres. 

What we've learnt

Para-sport classification and its impact at TSD

With the Paris Paralympics come and gone, we were able to witness extraordinary athletes redefine what's possible. An event like this provides such a great opportunity to reflect and celebrate how far para-sport has come, and how it supports positive change in our society.

After heading to Europe last year to complete his para-sport classifier training, hear more from our Practice Manager, Patrick Wuertz, as he reflects on the significance that para-sport has in our everyday work at TSD, and how his training has deepened his appreciation for areas we often encounter in community discussions about inclusion and disability.

Levelling the playing field: How para-sport can influence mindsets and policies.

Research Society’s Human Insights Conference

Mel Butcher, our Director of Impact and Engagement recently attended the Research Society’s Human Insights Conference in Sydney. Mel spent two jam-packed days soaking up the latest thinking in research design and delivery - connecting with and picking the brains of some very intelligent research and insights professionals and innovative companies.

Some of the hot topics included:

• unlocking difficult discussions
• creating safe spaces
• rethinking data privacy
• practical applications
• future potential of AI in research
• latest ideas in applied behavioural insights.

This was an extremely valuable experience for Mel and the rest of The Social Deck team as our on-the-road engagements ramp up towards the end of the year. 

Our People

Meet Lilly. She is our Administration and Engagement Coordinator, and she’s just passed one year with us on the Sunshine Coast!

Before starting at TSD, Lilly studied a Bachelor of Science in Environment and Development studies in Norway. She loved that the degree focused on all aspects of sustainability - social, environmental and economic. 

Lilly Klein, Administration and Engagement Coordinator.

She is thrilled these are areas of work The Social Deck prioritise and allow her to openly contribute to.

In her spare time, you can find Lilly at the beach, enjoying the local National Park walks, playing soccer, or with friends trying to find the best almond croissant on the Sunshine Coast! (She thinks she may have found it…)

Did you know?

Did you know that 44% of Australians read at a grade 10 level or below, and 14% of those read at a primary school level or below. Many of the people we engage with tell us the information they get from government and other organisations is often difficult to understand and hard to read. The Social Deck advocates for plain language and Easy English resources whenever our clients want to communicate with and inform the public. Because what’s the point of developing communication resources that your reader doesn’t understand, right?  

Manual typewriter with 'Words have power!' text written over loaded paper.

Late last year, the Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) released their International Standards to aid a global movement advocating for plain language in all areas of government, law and business. In response to the ongoing feedback The Social Deck hears almost daily, our plain language experts have developed a training course based on the ISO standards. The course is adaptable and can be delivered online or face to face.  

If you’re interested in getting yourself or your organisation up to speed on how to make your communications usable, you can email us at: engage@thesocialdeck.com 

You can read a bit more about plain language in our blog.

The Social Deck is a B-Corp certified agency specialising in research, communication, social marketing and engagement.

This artwork was designed and produced by Gubbi Gubbi and Githabul artist, Shauna Hill for The Social Deck.  

The Social Deck acknowledges the traditional custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and community. Our staff live and work on the lands of many First Nations peoples, including the Gubbi Gubbi or Kabi Kabi people, the Turrbal and Yuggera people, the Bundjalung people, the Ngarigo and Ngunnawal people and the Wadawurrung people. These peoples have lived on and cared for these lands for thousands of generations, and their sovereignty has never been ceded. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to elders past and present.

Think green and read from the screen.