blog posts
Insight
Social Innovation with Clout: Insights from Canada’s social impact ecosystem
From Olivia Clark-Moffatt In June, donkey wheel foundation, sent a group of leaders from Australia’s social innovation sector to draw insight from the Canadian social impact ecosystem. The trip visited Montreal and Toronto (some participants also visited Winnipeg or Atlanta), experiencing some top examples of grassroots initiatives through to big organisations and their role in the ecosystem. TDi Principal, Olivia Clark-Moffatt, was one of the 12 journeymen (and women). These are her reflections and insights from the trip. What I felt Canada is familiar and yet foreign. It seems ... READ MORE
Climate Heroes
A letter to our children on the 2040 we hope for… Have you seen Damon Gameau’s 2040 yet? It’s a great documentary, but one thing in particular we liked when we watched it was the focus on impactful, practical climate solutions. Often, the climate conversation is heavy, with emphasis given to how bad the situation is and how it will only get worse if we don’t act. In 2040, however, Gameau creates a more positive and hopeful narrative by exploring solutions – real solutions, currently in existence – that will make things better if adopted. Gameau uses Kate Raworth doughnut economics as a ... READ MORE
TDi’s Reading Guide
Annie, CEO – Annie is a perfectly primed systems-challenger, with experience in starting businesses, community leadership, impact-investing, and commercial business. I have many favourite reading resources. I’m thankful that we live in a time where information and ideas can be so freely shared. I’ve chosen Reinventing Organisations by Frederic Laloux. I remember when I first read this about 2.5 years ago it awakened and gave language to a stack of idea I’d been playing with. I remember thinking “this is great, but is it really possible?” TDi has begun its ‘teal journey’ and we ... READ MORE
The art of rule-breaking
From Annie Smits, CEO I consider myself a ‘seasoned rule-breaker’ having dedicated much of my life to challenging systems that don’t work. I spent 10 years as a minister pushing up against one of the biggest institutions entrenched in tradition: the church. What comes to mind for me when I think about Piscasso’s quote learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist is the journey to mastering a trade – from novice, to apprentice, to journeyman, to master of a craft. So, what does this have to do with social entrepreneurship and innovation? Well ... READ MORE
The Full Monty the movie, and the next economy
From Anna Moegerlein, Principal The Full Monty is one of my favourite movies. Recently I stumbled across a chapter by J. K Gibson-Graham (2006) describing the film through the lens of the next economy. It took my appreciation to a whole other level. The Full Monty is set in Sheffield in the England shortly after the closure of the steelworks. A group of unemployed men gather each day at the Job Club. Some are looking for work, others have given up all together. Then a male strip show comes to town and a small group of the local men, led by Gaz, decide to put on their ... READ MORE
The stories we tell ourselves
If you have ever dreamt of a society with great wealth, distributed fairly and intended exclusively for the wellbeing of its people then maybe you have dreamt of Europe’s first great civilization – the Minoan empire on the island of Crete, 4600 years ago. The Minoans created a seafaring empire. Their ships sailed to all points of the Mediterranean peninsula for trade. They built well-developed roads connecting 100 cities across the island of Crete. For 500+ years they lived in peace. The Minoan capital of Knossos had no defense walls and no army. The capital did not feel threatened by ... READ MORE
Technology, inequality and the future of work
Image courtesy of Square Up, Australia. Reflections on The University of Melbourne Lecture Series Recently, I attended a discussion about the future impacts of technological innovation on Australia’s workforce and economic and social equality, at The University of Melbourne. Tim Dunlop (Futurist) and Tim Lyons (former ACTU Assistant Secretary) debated the likelihood of new technologies widening, or perhaps redefining, the gap between richer and poorer Australians by changing the way we work in the future. In particular, Tim Dunlop's perspective resonated with me, as I share ... READ MORE
Avengers: Endgame – an analysis
A few of us in the TDi office contributed to the Avengers: Endgame’s astonishing $1.7b opening week at the box office. For one of our Consultants, Erin, however, it turned out to be far more meaningful than expected, leaving her with pearls of wisdom relevant to much of the work we do, and the philosophies we follow at TDi. Her analysis is below. For me, I took away two key messages from Avengers: Endgame: 1. vulnerability, and 2. new types leadership Now for two key warnings: 1. spoilers below 2. I’m about to go full film nerd Let's start with vulnerability. This was key to Thor’s ... READ MORE
Modern Slavery – it is closer than you think
Modern slavery refers to slavery as it exists in the world today, which entraps people through forced labour, being owned or controlled by their employer, dehumanised or treated like a commodity, or physically constrained. More than 40 million people globally are in modern slavery. In March, TDi was invited to Stop the Traffik’s inaugural modern slavery conference. This came about because the Modern Slavery Act passed in parliament last year. Stop the Traffik campaigned for years to make this happen. The Act is a landmark achievement which will push significant reforms across many ... READ MORE
TDi in the Pacific: Q&A with our Head of Pacific Programs Anna
Anna Moegerlein works here at TDi heading up our consulting and business development in the Pacific. She recently sat down with Sam Cook at Pacific Legal Network (PLN) Australia to share about TDi’s work in the Pacific, and to shed some light on what drives everything that we do in the ‘do good make money’ space. *The following interview was originally posted on PLN’s blog here. Q: You currently work at TDi, can you please tell me more about what TDi does and why you get out of bed and go to work every day? TDi was founded by investors and entrepreneurs to awaken the ... READ MORE
8 Ethical Presents for the Holidays
Holiday shopping can be stressful…especially for those of us who are passionate about the social impact space, as we want to know that when we do need to buy new items for ourselves and our loved ones, that we are supporting ethical companies with every dollar of our purchasing power. And, with the average Aussie spending between $500 and $600 on presents during the holiday season, our individual purchasing power can add up to make a huge impact! So this year we wanted to share with you 9 gorgeous and ethical products that do good with your money, making spoiling your loved ones ... READ MORE
Undercover at Two Feet: Investment
Welcome to the sixth instalment of Undercover at Two Feet, where we cover each Two Feet topic as they unfold. From Intent, to Funding and Pitching, to Team and Governance, our Two Feeters are covering a lot of ground this year, and we want to take you inside. This week was all about investment with Ishani Chattopadhyay, read on to find out what was was covered… Date: 1/8/2017 Location: The Academy, 50 Miller St, North Sydney Facilitator: Ishani Chattopadhyay Session: Investment Vibe: It should come as no surprise that as soon as the topic turns to “how to get more money ... READ MORE