The Seahorse, Issue 26, September 2016

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Issue 26, September 2016

Making connections at the Philanthropy Australia conference: Alberto Furlan, Nicole Bortone, Squirrel Main and Craig Connelly (with cameo by Greening Australia's Jonathan Duddles)

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

Listening, learning, evolving As I approach the first anniversary of my appointment as The Ian Potter Foundation Chief Executive, I have just returned from my first Philanthropy Australia Conference. Attending this conference allowed me to lift my head from my focus on our own grant making processes and Foundation operations, and explore many concepts critical to our quest to be the most effective grant maker we can be.

Dr Squirrel Main (Research & Evaluation Manager) and Dr Alberto Furlan (Senior Program Manager) both represented the Foundation incredibly well at the conference, sharing their insights with many participants. Squirrel held a master class focused on our innovative approach to grant evaluation, and Alberto participated as a key speaker discussing our experience managing and sometimes leading innovative, multi-year, co-funded grants for particular projects.

I was particularly pleased to receive multiple, unsolicited endorsements of the quality of Squirrel’s evaluation master class. Encouraging our experienced team to share our own insights with others in the philanthropic sector is an integral part of our role as a leading Australian foundation. We will continue to explore ways to complement our contribution to the sector beyond grant making.

The conference itself challenged me to think about a range of issues, particularly the concept of funding capacity building for worthwhile organisations. This was a consistent theme from many speakers, and from our own reviews of grants from the past five years of our own grant making, we know that capacity building grants have been some of the most successful across several program areas. With this evidence at hand, I am confident that the Board of Governors will continue to support such programs for outstanding organisations, outstanding projects and outstanding individuals.

Our own focus on larger, multi-year grants with appropriately considered Key Performance indicators, and timely reporting and measurement of these, was endorsed by many of the conference speakers. I was also very happy to hear the characteristics highlighted by many speakers as being best practice for funders, including: (1) understanding what grant seekers need to thrive; (2) narrowing the focus in nominated program areas, and (3) fully funding grant requests for worthy projects. As a Foundation, I believe we are starting to really focus on point 1, we are definitely doing point 2, using evidence of our own grant making in specific program areas to achieve this, and we are improving on point 3.

For me, the Philanthropy Australia conference was time very well spent. The conference theme challenged us all to ensure philanthropy continues to evolve, so that we remain relevant and effective in achieving positive outcomes consistent with our particular missions.

On a separate note, it is with some sadness that this edition of The Seahorse is the final edition prepared and edited by our Senior Communications Manager, Avalee Weir. Avalee has been offered an amazing opportunity to forge another professional road, being appointed the inaugural Communications Manager at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre. Just as she did some 8 years ago, when appointed to the newly created position here at IPF, I am sure Avalee will turn the VCCC’s communications function into the professional, transparent, innovative and high quality product that she has created here at The Ian Potter Foundation. We will all miss Avalee, not only as a true communications professional, but as a highly valued and integral member of The Ian Potter Foundation team. Please join me in wishing Avalee all the best in her new role.

Craig Connelly

ROUND UP

51 new grants, $14 million

Artist's impression of the University of Tasmania's Creative Industries and Performing Arts Development, which was awarded a grant of $5 million. Image courtesy, Liminal Architecture WOHA Arup.

Following a very busy funding round back in April, and with applications closed in a number of program areas this round, a smaller number of high-value projects were considered by the Board of Governors at our recent September meeting. Of a total $14,044,000 in new approved grants, $12 million has been awarded to three outstanding projects in our new Major Grants stream. Due to existing forward commitments some of these projects will receive first payments in 2018 or 2019.

In the core program areas, just under $2 million will be shared across 14 projects plus a further 34 grants totalling $134,000 in our Knowledge and Learning stream.

Find out who got what in the full story on our blog or see the list in our Grants Database.

NEWS

State of the Arts, Victoria

The Hon Steve Herbert MP, Victorian Minister for Training and Skills; Vice Chancellor of Monash University Prof Margaret Gardener AO; Lady Potter AC and Mr Charles Goode AC at the announcement of the new Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts, Monash University.

Further cementing Melbourne’s place as a world-class cultural centre, redevelopments of two major arts education and performance precincts were officially announced in the last quarter. The Foundation supported projects at The University of Melbourne and Monash University with grants of $5 million each. Both grants were approved at our April Board Meeting, contingent on the commitment of support from the Victorian State Government.

Melbourne Conservatorium of Music A major $100+ million investment by philanthropy, government and The University of Melbourne will deliver an ambitious project to expand and relocate the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (MCM). The MCM will move from the main campus of The University of Melbourne to a state-of-the art new music facility at Southbank. This will bring the MCM into a shared home with the Victorian College of the Arts to create a vibrant hub for students in the heart of Melbourne’s art culture precinct. It will open up a new outdoor public space linking Dodds and Sturt Streets and include a 400-seat auditorium that will be available for use by arts organisations.

The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts, Monash University In Melbourne's fast growing south-east corridor, arts education, development and performance will be enhanced by a new $45 million centre at Monash University.

To be named The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts, the project will comprise a revitalised 586-seat Alexander Theatre, adjoining two new dynamic performance venues including a 130-seat Sound Gallery and 200-seat Jazz Club. This world-class facility will be a tremendous asset for the students and staff of the university, for local and international performers and the local community.

In announcing the grant, The Ian Potter Foundation Chairman, Charles Goode said, he

was delighted to see the transformative project come to fruition. “Monash University’s arts facilities are vital to the cultural life of the University and to the community in this rapidly growing corridor of Melbourne. We commend the Victorian State Government for recognising the importance of the arts and music in their support of this initiative.”

The refurbished Alexander Theatre is expected to open in early 2018 with the adjoining venues to follow.

SECTOR ENGAGEMENT

Water Forum

Fresh water management was identified as a key issue in the Foundation’s 2015 review of our Environment & Conservation (E&C) program area. In July we convened a special Water Forum at Griffith University’s Rivers Institute, bringing together 17 experts from academia, research, government departments and NGOs to discuss the state of fresh water management in Australia.

The Water Forum provided an opportunity for our team to listen and learn, engage with key influencers/experts, raise awareness of our interest in the issue, and identify potential opportunities and pathways for informed and strategic grant making in the future.

A wide-ranging and comprehensive four-hour discussion revealed the complexity and depth of the issues, the barriers for improvement, and ultimately, key themes and opportunities for philanthropic contribution. We have already begun initial discussions regarding potential areas in which we could make a difference.

Our sincere thanks to all the forum participants for their generous contributions of time and expertise, and to the Griffith University team for hosting the day.

PROGRAM AREAS

Blogs and Case Studies

Lizard Island Research Station was featured as a case study during Science Week

The Foundation awards around 200 grants across a variety of sectors in the Australian community every year, making it a challenge to communicate the scope of our work in each program area. To complement the overviews we feature in our annual report, this year we introduced a calendar of monthly focus topics, linked to relevant external calendar dates such as Science Week or Homelessness Prevention Week. Each month we are publishing new case studies from a particular program area on our website, and linking them via a blog post that reviews them in the context of our grant-making objectives.

So far this year we have highlighted key Medical Research grants to coincide with Medical Research Week (3 – 8 June); published three case studies and a blog during Science Week (15 – 19 August) and run a feature on our Education grants in July. Next up we focus on some key Environment & Conservation grants.

Thanks to each of the featured grantees for taking the time to complete the case study template. It is our hope that this platform provides an opportunity for grant recipients to communicate their achievements to a broader audience and another means to help grant seekers to better understand our grant-making foci and priorities.

ANNUAL GRANTS REPORT 2015-16

Sneak Preview

The Foundation's Annual Grants Report is complete and will be published in print and online by mid-October. The theme for this year is Insight + Focus, reflecting on our efforts to gain better understanding of which grants work and why, and the resulting process of tailoring our objectives to do more of what works best. This year's Annual Grants Report focuses on our Environment & Conservation program area, which was the subject of a major review in 2015. The report includes a short video that looks at the new objectives and highlights three exemplar Environment & Conservation grants from 2015-16.

Commemorative Grants Update

Milestone Events

In 2014, the Foundation marked its 50th Anniversary with a special round of Commemorative Grants that aimed to help 11 not-for-profit organisations take a quantum leap with projects that would deliver enduring benefits for the community.

The grants were offered in two streams: Effective Organisations and Building Communities. These grants were open across all sectors in an effort to find passionate,

ambitious people and organisations with transformative ideas in any area of the Australian community. The criteria were they have the ideas, the opportunity and the people, to deliver practical, sustainable results with long-term impact in an area of particular need.

Over the past few months four of these Commemorative Grants projects reached major milestones, with the start of works to create the Ian Potter Children’s WildPlay Garden in Centennial Park, Sydney; the launch of the Ian Potter NanoBiosensing Facility at RMIT; the opening of the Ian Potter Australian Wildlife Biobank at Museum Victoria and the opening of social enterprise STREAT’s new headquarters, training facility and café in Cromwell St, Collingwood. We are delighted to see these fantastic projects coming to fruition. Although this is just the end of the development phase, each has achieved our aims for the Commemorative Grants program, delivering transformative projects for their sectors and stakeholders.

Congratulations to all!

Further information about the Commemorative Grants program can be found on our website.

The Hon. Jill Hennessy MP (centre), Prof Graeme Ryan, Craig Connelly with executives from the VCCC and partner organisations at the 13th floor announcement.

News

Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre opens On the eve of the official opening of the new Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) building in July, we were honoured to have the Hon Jill Hennessy MP announce that the 13th floor will be named The Ian Potter Centre for New Cancer Treatments. The centre will house the Peter Mac-led Immunotherapy

Goodbye from me

Farewell from the Editor Speaking of the VCCC...

After eight rewarding and happy years as Senior Communications Manager at the Foundation, this is my final issue of The Seahorse. At the end of this month I leave to take up a new Communications role at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre.

It has been an honour and a privilege to work for an organisation that contributes

Research Program, the Australian Genome Research Facility, the

so much to community. I have had the opportunity to meet and work with

Cooperative Research Centre for Cancer Therapeutics and the Innovative Clinical Trials Centre.

The announcement was recognition of our $15 million grant to the project in 2012.

The VCCC building provides a state of the art home for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, as well as cancer researchers from the University of Melbourne, Melbourne Health and others. The opening of the building marks an

inspiring individuals in many of our grantee organisations, and to witness the transformative effect that strategic philanthropy can have on key issues.

important milestone in the journey to advance cancer research, education, treatment and care, and provides a platform for the collaborative projects of the 10 major Victorian cancer hospitals and research institutions that form the VCCC alliance. Congratulations to all involved in this major initiative which promises to place Victoria’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre among the best in the world.

Janet Hirst and Craig Connelly to try new ideas and work towards greater awareness, engagement and transparency. My sincere thanks to them, as well as the Board of Governors, for the trust they put in me.

From our first tentative steps into social media in 2011 to the fabulous celebrations for the Foundation’s 50th anniversary; to making our first videos, newsletters and the constantly-evolving annual reports, I have been given great support from CEOs

To my colleagues, past and present: it has been an absolute pleasure to work with such an amazing professional team who also happen to be wonderful, warmhearted people. I will miss you all.

Avalee Weir

We produce this quarterly e-newsletter to keep our friends and associates up to date with all the news and recent grants made by The Ian Potter Foundation.

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