CASE STUDY
3 tips for harnessing complexity with FRRR
About Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR)
FRRR is focussed on enhancing the social and economic strength of remote, rural and regional Australia. Their vision is for more vibrant, resilient, sustainable and empowered communities. Established in 2000 as a partnership between the Australian Government and the Sidney Myer Fund, to date they've awarded more than $200 million in grants to more than 15,000 projects.
They are driven by the needs and abilities of communities themselves. A big part of their job is to listen and build understanding – and to amplify the voices of smaller communities.
Our journey together
“It can look like magic the way it all falls into place. But it’s the result of decades of experience in strategy facilitation and group process.”
This remark by Sue Middleton, Deputy Chair of FRRR, as we wrapped a two-day strategy offsite is not just about us, but about the whole project.
For context, FRRR is a national foundation working alongside remote and rural communities - this means navigating geographic isolation, stacked inequalities, climate pressures, and systems designed largely for metropolitan Australia. There is incredible local leadership, resilience and capability - but there are significant challenges.
What made Sue, Tim Fairfax and others remark that we really landed something meaningful?
A strategy pack that was carefully and collaboratively created
Understanding the strategic choices required a rich and stretching context pack. To do this, FRRR’s CEO, Natalie Egleton, commissioned a rigorous academic environmental scan and Board Survey. Elise drew on staff and executive sessions and leant into AI to draw out themes and condense the thinking. The outcome, a Sense-Making paper that synthesised this significant body of thinking, gave the Board and Executive a running start for the offsite.
A board that stands out for its commitment to outcomes
Social purpose organisations can feel that it is hard to get experienced Directors, and that the expectations on Director’s should be minimal, given the voluntary nature of the role, particularly if they are busy and successful people. The culture of the FRRR Board is striking. Chaired by Tim Fairfax AC FRRR’s Board brings depth in governance and lived experience, and an expectation of full attendance and participation. Their reflections at the close — including Tim’s remark that it was one of the best strategic processes he’s been part of — therefore meant a lot.
A rich and long history of working together
FRRR is another great example of a partnership where the multi-dimensional nature of our engagement has paid dividends. Our work with FRRR spans a CEO partnership through SILA, team coaching, executive coaching and the facilitation of the all-staff offsite. That trust and rich context enabled deep and fast progress.
Strategy – all together now
What’s emerging now for FRR is a co-created Theory of Change and Strategic Plan on a page — a clear, energising map for this next chapter of impact in rural and remote Australia. In Nat's word's:
“Leadership Space doesn’t just deliver a strategy — they build the conditions for a Board and Executive to co-create it. Elise helped us synthesise a wide range of inputs, bringing a level of rigour and coherence to the papers that we wouldn’t have achieved alone."
"During the offsite, her ability to partner and hold complexity - distilling the insights and drawing out what mattered was invaluable in landing meaningful strategic choices. Our new strategy is bold yet grounded — balancing vision and risk with the strength to deliver.”
