Agora Forums
Through forums and conferences Agora achieves its goal of finding fresh and innovative ways to address issues of disadvantage. Agora forums and conferences provide participants a place to explore existing and successful cross-sector partnerships; appreciate how cross-sector partnerships can deliver tangible, workable and actionable corporate social responsibility; and grasp practical lessons for generating new partnerships.
Forums are half-day around the themes of crime prevention, asset building, education and training and community infrastructure. Each theme has a dedicated cross sector working and resource group that has produced a research paper, which incorporates interviews with at least five local case study projects and some international case studies.
The purpose of forums are to:
- engage the leaders of cross sector partnerships in dialogue around a particular theme
- provide a place to share knowledge, expertise and experience; and
- supplement the literature reviews and case study interviews conducted by Agora researchers
The knowledge and data gained from the forums will be pooled by the Agora common Themes working group and formulated into a paper that will focus the discussion at the Agora 02 conference.
Research findings were tested at Agora forums held throughout October 2006. Facilitated by Tim Orton, the forums:
- provided the latest research in cross-sector partnerships,
- discussed examples of cross-sector partnerships with forum participants
- explored how to sustain and replicate successful cross-sector partnerships
- illustrated the type, nature and impact of a successful partnership
- identified new opportunities for cross-sector partnerships
The knowledge and data gained from the forums will be pooled by the Agora Common Themes working group and formulated into a paper that will form part of the discussion at the Agora 02 conference.
The Agora Forums will assist in the finalisation of research papers in preparation for the June 2007 conference, where the information can be tested and debated and reported back to John Thwaites MP, Minister for Victorian Communities.