A Justice and Equity Centre approach to supporting systemic change
Collaboration Engines is a research report authored by Mark Riboldi from the UTS Business School, Mich de Waal, and Rivkah Nissim from the JEC.
This report explores the how of the JEC’s collaborative practice, by examining four key collaborations held and facilitated by the JEC in the areas of disability rights, First Nations justice, and homelessness. The key finding is a series of principles which appear to underpin how JEC team members approach their role in these collaborations:
- We are more than lawyers
- We are independent, but not neutral
- We follow through on our commitments
- We are led by lived experience
These principles, typically existing in dialogue with each other, guide some of the more practical aspects of holding collaborations, such as providing the secretariat or “backbone”, hosting the required spaces, and creating shared documentation. They also appear to guide JEC team members in successfully navigating some of the recognised challenges of collaboration – enabling action, building trust and negotiating power dynamics.
Generally, the JEC does not work from a fixed ‘playbook’, model or practice guide. Instead, their principles guide decision-making on a case-by-case basis.
Within the JEC’s collaborative practice, we find the idea of collaboration engines – spaces which build the relationships and collective power necessary to launch targeted interventions for systemic change.The purpose of these collaborative spaces is to build relationships around areas of common interest. Doing so helps create the honeycomb of civil society power which has historically underpinned large-scale change towards economic and social justice.
