Centre for Social Purpose Organisations
Unleashing ideas and leaders for sustainable social impact.
The Centre for Social Purpose Organisations brings to life Melbourne Business School’s own social purpose of unleashing leaders and ideas for a sustainable future by growing the impact of social purpose organisations and strengthening the for-purpose ecosystem.
The Centre for Social Purpose Organisations is generously supported by Melbourne Business School and the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust. It exists to help not-for-profit and other for-purpose organisations to grow their impact sustainably. We work with for-purpose leaders to help address their challenges at an organisational and ecosystem-level.
We take a strengths-based approach recognising that not-for-profit and social-purpose organisations have deep expertise in understanding and addressing complex social issues. We also aim to leverage Melbourne Business School’s strengths, including our relationships with business and access to human capital to help organisations realise their social purpose goals.
In the Centre for Social Purposes Organisations we focus is on supporting not-for-profit and other social purpose organisations to continue to develop their strategic and operational capabilities to realise their potential as a critical sector of the economy and an essential force for social equity and progress.
Our Objectives
Our objectives include strengthening and supporting not for profit and other for-purpose organisations to grow their impact sustainably, recognising the deep expertise that exists in for-purpose organisations, and leveraging Melbourne Business School’s strengths to support and enable impact and sustainability.
Growing social-purpose leaders
Building evidence based knowledge
Developing the enabling ecosystem
Our People
Libby Ward-Christie - Director
Libby Ward-Christie is a recognised leader in Australia's social purpose ecosystem. Prior to joining Melbourne Business School, Libby was Director of the Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne University of Technology and a member of the Centre for Social Impact National Executive.
Libby brings a wealth of experience in applied social purpose research, education and engagement. Her specialist knowledge spans social entrepreneurship, social finance and philanthropy, impact measurement and evaluation and for-purpose strategy and governance.
Libby has an MBA from Melbourne Business School with Dean’s Honours, a BA (Dean’s Honours) majoring in geography, a first-class BSc (Hons) degree majoring in ecology and a MLArch with Dean’s Honours, all from the University of Melbourne.
She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a recipient of an Melbourne Business School Alumni Award for her work with social-purpose organisations. Libby is currently undertaking a PhD focusing on social entrepreneurship.
Libby's achievements demonstrate an ability to bring the worlds of community, business, philanthropy and government together to innovatively and sustainably address disadvantage, informed by rigorous research and evidence. She has extensive networks across Australia’s for-purpose ecosystem and the ability to engage people from all sectors toward collective social-purpose goals.
Kate Taborska - Centre Manager
Kate has extensive experience in talent acquisition, human resources management and organisational development in various industries. She has a proven record of success in delivering results and fostering strong partnerships within organisations such as Deakin University, City of Monash and Deloitte & Touche.
With her administrative and operational background, Kate is well-versed in optimising processes, delivering tangible results and elevating efficiency that resonate with an organisation’s goals and vision. Her experience is complemented by a diverse skill set encompassing stakeholder management, system management, project coordination and strategic implementation.
Kate brings a proactive, highly motivated and customer-focused approach to her work, ensuring the overall success of the Centre’s initiatives.
Julie Tucker - Research Fellow
Dr Julie Tucker is a research fellow and brings a legal background - specialising in employment, discrimination, and disability law – together with over 10 years’ social research experience, most recently with Swinburne University’s Centre for Social Impact.
Driven by a passion for research with social impact Julie’s work has focussed on social enterprise and the “for purpose” sector more broadly, using data for social good, particularly within the not-for-profit sector, inclusive employment and digital inclusion.
Her recent research includes an evaluation of Grameen Australia’s Grameen Today Program, a program providing low interest, capacity-building loans to low income, women entrepreneurs.
Beyond her research roles Julie managed CSI Swinburne’s Social Startup Studio - a practice and research-informed initiative supporting early-stage social enterprises to become impactful and sustainable – for four years and is currently teaching into the University of Melbourne’s Executive Master of Arts as seminar lead for the Social Enterprise Incubator, an experiential subject in which students design and develop a business that creates both economic and social value.
Emerging Social Purpose Leaders Program
Leaders in not-for-profit and other social purpose organisations operate in highly complex contexts.
This immersive 12-week program has been designed to equip not-for-profit and other social purpose leaders with limited or no prior business management training, with the skills to lead their teams to generate social impact and financial sustainability for their organisation.
The program includes residential blocks led by expert academics from Melbourne Business School and industry experts covering essential topics such as social purpose strategy, social impact systems and measurements, stakeholder management and communications, leading people for social impact, financial management, social purpose governance and social entrepreneurship.
Learn MoreAn integral part of the program is action planning – the participants are required to develop actionable plans during each block and apply their learning in their workplace with the support of their workplace mentors and CSPO coaches. Each residential block is followed by at least one online coaching session with a member of CSPO team.
In the Centre for Social Purposes Organisations we focus is on supporting not-for-profit and other social purpose organisations to continue to develop their strategic and operational capabilities to realise their potential as a critical sector of the economy and an essential force for social equity and progress.
Between residential sessions, participants benefit from collaborative learning opportunities, building a professional network of like-minded leaders who share similar vision and challenges.
7-14 July: Onboarding in MBS Academy including Pre-Program Diagnostic, Whatsapp Group and Program Goal Setting.
7-17 July: Self-organised initial meeting with mentor.
14-20 July: Pre-work
21-22 July: In-residence learning
23 July - 24 August: Work-applied learning
11-24 August: MBS Coaching session (30mins)
18-24 August: Pre-work
25-26 August: In-residence learning
27 August - 5 October: Work-applied learning
17 September - 5 October: MBS Coaching session (30mins)
29 September - 5 October: Pre-work
6-7 October: In-residence learning
7 October: Program wrap-up
Scholarships
Inclusions
The scholarship ($12.500) covers all tuition, mentoring, one night of accommodation per block (for the three blocks), and meals during the stay—lunch, dinner, breakfast, and lunch. Successful scholarship recipients will receive this with the requirement that they or their organisation cover $500 of the overall $13,000 fee. Additional accommodation and travel expenses are covered by their organisation.
Selection Criteria
The selection criteria focus on the perceived benefits the program will provide to both the individual and their organisation. The selection committee will carefully consider factors such as the type, industry, and size of the organisations represented. This approach ensures a diverse cohort, bringing a wide range of perspectives and experiences that add depth, variety, and vibrancy to the learning environment.
Emerging Social Purpose Leaders Key Facilitators
DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR SOCIAL PURPOSE ORGANISATIONS
Libby is a recognised leader in the not-for-profit and social enterprise sector. Her achievements demonstrate an ability to bring the worlds of community, business, philanthropy and government together to sustainably address disadvantage in new ways, informed by rigorous research and evidence.
PROFESSOR OF LEADERSHIP
Will Harvey is a Professor of Leadership at Melbourne Business School. He is an International Research Fellow at the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, ACADEMIC DIRECTOR (MBA & MASTER OF MARKETING PROGRAMS)
Nam Tran joined Melbourne Business School in 2011. Before completing his PhD and a Graduate Teaching Fellow position at the University of Oregon, Nam was an Auditor with Vietnam Auditing Company (Deloitte Vietnam), providing services to clients in various industries, such as cement, tobacco, brewing and beverages, and real estate.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
David Keith is an Associate Professor of Strategy, and Associate Director – Innovation in the MBS Centre for Sustainability and Business. After completing his PhD in Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, David joined the faculty at the MIT Sloan School of Management in the System Dynamics group. David’s specializes in the use of simulation for strategy development in complex and dynamic settings, with a particular focus on the future of the automotive industry.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT
Daisung Jang is an Assistant Professor of Management at Melbourne Business School. He is an award-winning researcher who studies negotiation. He has a particular interest in studying how people plan to bargain and implement negotiated deals. He is also interested in how individual characteristics influence this process, by exploring how personality shapes how people plan, bargain, and deliver on an agreement.
Advisory Board
We are pleased to announce our advisory board comprised of a diverse mix of experts whose valuable insights are instrumental in shaping the future of our Centre.
Their extensive knowledge and experience across various domains will ensure a holistic and strategic approach to our initiatives and challenge our thinking.
Simon Lewis - Advisory Board Member
Simon is an experienced board member, trustee and non-profit director and former senior executive in the trustee and family office sector.
He established advisory firm GoodWolf Partners in 2019 to support families, foundations and organisations shifting their strategy and resources to participate in a more generative and distributive agenda, and help build out our social economy. This includes establishing and advising charitable foundations, blended business models like for purpose and social enterprise, and for purpose organisations dialling up their impact and effectiveness.
Simon is a Trustee of the Reichstein Foundation, Chair and Co-Founder of the Australian International Development Network (AIDN), Chair of the Australian Outward Bound Development Fund. He is also a Fellow of the AVPN and AVPA Impact Investing Fellowship. He holds a Senior Executive MBA (Melbourne Business School), MA (Oxon) and a BBusSci (Actuarial, Cape Town University).
Caroline Cox - Advisory Board Member
Chief Legal, Governance and External Affairs Officer Caroline leads a team of more than 450 professionals globally overseeing Legal, Governance, Climate Change & Sustainability, Ethics & Compliance, Community & Indigenous Relations, Communications and Corporate Affairs.
Caroline was previously a Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills specialising in cross-border transactions, disputes and regulatory investigations. Caroline is a longtime advocate for diversity and inclusion and community contribution.
She is Vice-Chair of the General Counsel for Diversity and Inclusion, Chair of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Legal Council and a Board Member of the and the Australian Corporate Counsel (ACC) GC100, and the Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce (CACC), and a member of Chief Executive Women.
Lisa Boothby - Advisory Board Member
Lisa’s career has focused on supporting the development of sustainable organisations. Her focus and passion lie with organisations that have a strong social impact.
Her early experience was in management consulting with the Strategy Group in Accenture, she worked throughout Australia as well as parts of Asia and Eastern Europe. Lisa held the position of Executive Director at Social Traders, where she worked for 10 years helping to grow and develop the social enterprise sector in Australia.
Lisa is currently the Chair of The Future Evidence Foundation, a ‘SaaS’ (software as a service) social enterprise in the scientific evidence sector. She is also providing advice and mentorship to several social enterprise boards.
Lisa holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne (Hons. Economics) and a Master of Business Administration from the Melbourne Business School. She is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).
Juanita Pope - Advisory Board Member
Juanita Pope leads the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) as Chief Executive Officer.
At VCOSS, Juanita works with community organisations, politicians and policymakers to tackle profound societal challenges, while also advancing new and innovative ways to empower local communities and create wellbeing for all.
Prior to joining VCOSS in 2023, Juanita spent a decade at Justice Connect's Not-for-profit Law program, and worked in legal and consulting roles assisting for-purpose organisations to improve their governance and performance. She has also worked in corporate practice and at the Federal Court. She has expertise in advocating for better regulation and laws affecting the sector and defending charities’ rights to advocate.
Juanita holds a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) and Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Australian Studies and Cultural Studies) from the University of Melbourne.
Marc Levy - Advisory Board Member
Marc is the founder and chair of Right Lane Consulting. In 30 years in management consulting, he has played leading roles in strategic projects for around 170 organisations and advised 120 CEOs.
Marc has completed transformational work across several industries, notably the social and public sectors, professional services and financial services, on strategy, operating model, growth and governance projects. He contributed to reviving a major global sport in Australia and has worked as a strategic advisor to several award-winning, not for profit super funds and their peak bodies.
Marc holds business degrees from Monash University and the Melbourne Business School and a PhD from the University of Melbourne on a topic relating to economic and social participation policy.
Alyssa Cameron - Advisory Board Member
Alyssa is an economist with nearly a decade providing economic and public policy advice to Government, the not for profit sector and industry.
She is currently working as a Principal Policy Analyst at the Department of Treasury and Finance, Victoria, where she has provided policy advice across infrastructure, social housing, and transport. She previously worked at Deloitte Access Economics where she provided advice across several other industries including health, energy, and tourism.
Alyssa is the Victorian Chair of the Women in Economics Network (WEN), where she works with a passionate group of women to promote female economists and advocate for gender equality, particularly within the field of economics.
Alyssa studied Commerce and Economics (Honours) at Monash University. She is currently completing her MBA at Melbourne Business School where she was awarded the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust Fellowship for 2023.
Social-purpose organisations in Australia
There is no agreed or regulated definition of a ‘social purpose organisation’ or the ‘social purpose sector’. However, these terms are generally conceptualised in practice and in the academic literature as organisations that exist to advance a social cause or charitable purpose irrespective of their business model, tax, and legal status. A large proportion of Australia’s social-purpose organisations are not-for-profit entities, but a growing number of for-profit entities also fit within the ‘for purpose’ or ‘social purpose’ sector.