Making Place Matter

What happens when the people closest to a problem help create the solution?

For decades, top-down, one-size-fits-all approaches have failed to meet the needs of diverse communities across Australia. Disadvantage remains entrenched – not because communities lack solutions, but because they’re rarely asked what they need.

Across Australia, that is changing. Communities are bringing together local leaders, government, service providers, and philanthropists to design and fund solutions that actually work over the long term.

Making Place Matter is a podcast from Partnerships for Local Action and Community Empowerment (PLACE), a national organisation that champions community-led approaches to social and economic challenges.

This season, Who Decides, is all about shared decision making – a foundation of place-based work. You’ll hear what that process really looks like, what gets in the way, and what becomes possible when communities are genuinely at the table.