Empowering Communities: How iyarn Facilitates Place-Based Solutions

At the heart of meaningful community change is the ability to listen, understand, and take action based on the voices of local people. Place-based approaches recognise that the most effective solutions come from within communities themselves, ensuring decisions are shaped by those with lived experience.

iyarn is a culturally appropriate data collection platform designed to support place-based decision-making. It is actively used by community members and organisations to facilitate place-based solutions across diverse regions, including Aboriginal-lead organisations, community schools, independent schools, youth justice initiatives, and youth programs. By providing a structured and meaningful way to gather insights, iyarn empowers communities to shape their futures collaboratively and effectively.

Culturally Appropriate Data Collection for Place-Based Solutions

Effective place-based solutions rely on shared understanding—a comprehensive view of community strengths, challenges, and aspirations. iyarn facilitates this by offering a platform that encourages honest conversations and data-driven insights, ensuring community voices and diverse perspectives are at the forefront of decision-making.

How iyarn Check Ins Capture Data and Voices

At the core of iyarn’s platform is the check in—a simple yet powerful tool that captures meaningful data and community voices. A check in involves users responding to customised prompts, which may include quantitative ratings, qualitative reflections, or progress tracking checklists. These responses are visualised in an interactive wheel format, making it easy to identify trends and changes over time. By regularly engaging in check ins, individuals and organisations can gather real-time insights, track wellbeing and progress, and ensure that decision-making is guided by the lived experiences of the community.

Flexible and Impactful Check Ins for Evaluation

iyarn check ins can be conducted anonymously or linked to individuals, depending on the needs of the organisation or community. This flexibility ensures that people feel safe sharing honest reflections while still allowing for individual progress tracking when required. By aggregating responses over time, iyarn provides valuable data on the effectiveness of programs, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement. Organisations can use these insights to measure impact, refine strategies, and ensure initiatives remain relevant and responsive to community needs.

With iyarn you can:

• Amplify diverse voices – Ensure broad community representation across demographics and lived experiences.
• Adapt to local needs – Support place-based solutions across remote, regional, and metro areas.
• Empower community leadership – Enable local voices to drive decision-making.
• Build trust and accountability – Foster openness where people feel heard and valued.
• Enhance program impact – Use real-time insights to refine and improve initiatives.
• Strengthen governance and evaluation – Track progress and measure outcomes effectively.

A Proven Approach to Community-Driven Decision Making

iyarn has been tested and proven across various sectors, demonstrating its value in capturing meaningful insights and driving community-led action. By aligning with place-based methodologies, iyarn empowers organisations to co-design programs that reflect the true needs and aspirations of the communities they serve.

As local communities, governments, and other stakeholders work together to create lasting change, tools like iyarn play a crucial role in ensuring that decisions are informed, inclusive, and impactful. iyarn and PLACE have an opportunity to collaborate in strengthening local governance and advancing impact measurement, further supporting the development of sustainable, community-driven solutions.