Starfish has an extensive track record of successfully providing professional services across all three broad pillars of rural and regional sustainability ~ social and cultural; natural and built environments; and the economy and livelihoods.
Starfish’s professional services are provided by our Associates; a fluid collective of experts who come together as needed to form teams which are tailor-made for each project.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.
~ H. L. Mencken
Our work has similarly spanned a wide range of specialist areas
In the last five years, Starfish has successfully fulfilled more than 50 professional service contracts with government agencies (14 Local, 8 State, 3 Australian, and the United Nations), 9 charities and several businesses.
To deliver such a diverse portfolio of services and specialisations, Starfish draws upon its extensive network of Associates (13), collaborators (164) and specialists (2,500).
Starfish has worked on more than 130 sustainability initiatives in the last five years. These have been implemented by project teams involving some 600 organisations and specialists in total.
Although we provide professional services, we are a charity. This not-for-profit status means that all of our funds must be applied to our purpose and work: change for sustainability.
We see this as so much more than ‘consulting’. Sharing our professional expertise is our way of being of service and collaborating with our peers. While we are of course legally contracted for such work ~ with performance-based agreements ~ Starfish has a significant track record of attracting additional value from its collaborative approach. While this is most often from pro-bono, volunteer and in-kind contributions, co-funding has also been secured.
Starfish sees this collaborative approach as more than just altruism, in line with our charitable purpose, as important and genuine as that is.A collaborative approach is also highly strategic and essential for sustainability to work.
Change is rarely simple or straight-forward.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.
~ H. L. Mencken
Meaningful change comes from a collective and shared process of learning by doing, adaptation and experimentation. Involving a range of people, organisations, stakeholders and specialists, makes it possible to create even more meaningful change.
This Kind of change is Starfish’s specialty.
The level of learning and adaptation that is needed is being amplified by the speed and amount of change happening around us right now. This is likely to not only continue, but also increase.
Starfish commits as well as contracts to the change process.As collaborators, we genuinely work to complement the capabilities that are already on hand.
This is especially important in fee-for-service work. Starfish doesn’t want to be paid to do work that can be done by people who are already involved. We only seek to be remunerated for areas where we add clear value and results.
Over and above this, as a charity, Starfish works to give away, or share, as much as we can to build the knowledge, capability and capacity of the parties involved.
Ultimately, our measure for success is that a project becomes autonomous to the point whereStarfish no longer needs to be involved.
This is the starfish principle.
Creating and supporting genuine sustainability
Starfish has a track record of providing professional services to realise opportunities and addressing challenges for rural and regional sustainability.
We welcome discussing your ideas as much as we do putting together formal proposals to support and enable your sustainability initiatives.
Fit-for-purpose teams are formed for each Starfish initiative or engagement. This is to achieve high quality results by ensuring the necessary capabilities are involved. While the Associates are the core pool of professionals engaged in our work, they are often joined by other professionals and collaborators.
Starfish has successfully coordinated such collaborations involving hundreds of contracted professionals and partnerships to date. In fact, nearly every Starfish initiative has involved formal collaboration with numerous other organisations.
Being of service is to give something of ourselves…
Starfish specialises in:
What others say about us
The NOW Initiative is progressing nicely. I am really delighted with the outcome of this body of work. Thank you so much for your commitment and interest… it has been a pleasure to work with you.”
“On reading the below [RDANI Newsletter] I came across the good work Starfish is doing in this space – well done, interested to hear more on it.”
“The newsletters are great and really provide some fresh concepts and approaches, along with actual examples, so thanks for them.”
Thank-you for relaying the information you have and for providing the links … easy to understand, concise and relevant. I cannot ask for more than that!
