It’s been over 20 years since I majored in Marketing at Swinburne University. How much of what was taught then, still applies now? More importantly, perhaps, how much of what is necessary now to a marketer’s toolkit wasn’t taught in the past, before artificial intelligence, social media and our always-on economy?

The port-city of Burnie on the north-western coast of Tasmania is a small and vibrant community, rich with inspiring people and stories, and home to a progressive cohort of changemakers with a strong desire to address community challenges and create a brighter future. The Burnie identity is one of hard-working, robust resilience, yet the community has some complex challenges to overcome, including a culture of long-term inter-generational unemployment and education and economic outcomes the community wants to shift.

The British businessman James Goldsmith was famous for his many wives and amorous adventures. He once offered this advice after his third marriage, “if you marry your mistress, you create a job vacancy”. When partnerships managers finally get to a yes with a new corporate partner, it’s fair to say you’ve just lost your warmest prospect.

Community data access and sharing is at the heart of a new Bourke narrative, written and owned by Bourke people.

“You are not going out dressed like that!” I can hear my mother’s words echoing in my head from my teenage years. It’s fair to say I experimented with a bunch of outfits that ranged from fashion forward to downright weird. The shock and horror that usually greeted my mum’s first view of my chosen Saturday night outfit were less about fashion and more about what I thought I was getting ready for. I thought it was to be the belle of the disco. Mum thought otherwise.

Organisations inevitably face the need to change as their customers evolve, transforming markets in unexpected ways.

Throughout my 35-year career in science communication, I’ve regularly been asked “what makes a good research story?” Luckily, I have worked in institutions that encouraged their researchers to develop research ‘for the real world’, both in Australia and overseas.

RESET 2020 Research Project - what we learnt and where to next.

While preparing to speak about NFPs and innovation for a recent conference, it dawned on me just how prolific the mindset and language of “more” is in our sector: “do more, with less”, “find more donors”, “be more innovative”…

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Have you ever heard of someone buying a car, and asking for a $25,000 discount because they don’t want to pay for the overheads to make the car? Have you ever heard of someone buying a car, and asking for a $25,000 discount because they don’t want to pay for the overheads to make the car?