ABOUT REGEN MELBOURNE

A new way of organising for systems change

Regen Melbourne is a platform for ambitious collaboration in service of the regeneration of our city.

Group standing on Southbank boardwalk looking at Melbourne skyline and the Birrarung
Community members seated on stools in small groups at a Regen Melbourne outdoor event
Our story

Our origins

Regen Melbourne was born in the dual crisis of the Black Summer fires and the COVID-19 pandemic of. In this context, Kaj Lofgren (now our CEO) and Small Giants Academy brought together a small group of interested organisations and individuals around the question of how can we best serve our city

This small group quickly became a larger group and a nine-month community-led research process began. Together, we explored our collective vision for a regenerative Melbourne and the process involved participatory workshops, leadership interviews, roundtables, and countless hours of data analysis.

The result was our foundational report, Towards a Regenerative Melbourne, which was released in April 2021.

Inspired by Doughnut Economics, our initial work resulted in our co-created vision statement, our goal to move Melbourne into the safe and just space of the Melbourne Doughnut, and a roadmap for collective action. After years of learning alongside place, Regen Melbourne has emerged as a new way of organising at scale, towards a regenerative future.

Our work is to articulate, influence and reorient prevailing systems so that Melbourne can become a beacon city for resilience and regeneration. This includes rebalancing the economy to ensure equity is the foundation of our city's future.

Our collective vision

A regenerative melbourne

Our collective vision was created during our community-led research process at the start of 2021. Together with over 500 people and 50 organisations, we co-created a collective vision for Greater Melbourne, setting out a deep shared purpose: to move Greater Melbourne towards a resilient and regenerative future. The vision frames our agenda for change and enables our civic mandate.

People

Systems Circle

Our work operates at the edge of many fields: regenerative practice, systems innovation, systemic investing, place-based change, alternative economics (to name a few!).

Our Systems Circle provides guidance and support across the spectrum of our work

Our funders

Our work is generously supported by a group of catalytic philanthropic funders committed to systemic change. Each has contributed both funding and expertise in pursuit of a resilient and regenerative Melbourne.

We are very grateful for their continued support. We have also established both formal and informal learning opportunities with our funders, where we generate and share insights about systems change in practice.

Large crowd at the City Portrait for Greater Melbourne launch in a heritage brick venue with purple lighting