The It Depends Podcast with Matt Healey

#21 Making Space, Valuing Place: A Preview of AES26 in Darwin with Christabelle Darcy and Alison Reedy

In this episode, Matt speaks with Christabelle Darcy and Alison Reedy — co-convenors of the 2026 Australian Evaluation Society Conference [https://www.aes26.aes.asn.au/] being held in Darwin from 14–18 September. Christabelle leads the Program Evaluation Unit at the NT Department of Treasury and Finance, and Alison manages evaluation at the NT Department of Housing, Local Government and Community Development. Under the theme Making Space, Valuing Place [https://www.aes26.aes.asn.au/conference-theme], Christabelle and Alison walk us through the thinking behind this year's program — the four subthemes, the keynote line-up, and why they wanted a conference that welcomes a broader audience into evaluation conversations. We talk about what it means to do evaluation in place, the role of Indigenous voices and authority in the work, and how the program is designed to encourage people to step outside their usual silos. Christabelle and Alison also share what they're personally hoping to take from the experience — from the richness of working with this year's keynote speakers to the conversations that happen in the margins. Their message is clear: the evaluation community is wider than the people who already call themselves evaluators, and AES26 is built to bring that wider community into the room. In this episode we cover: * The thinking behind the theme Making Space, Valuing Place * The four subthemes: Traditions and new ways; Ethics and integrity; Boundaries and bridges; Roots and routes * The 2026 keynote line-up — Robyn Ober, Bagele Chilisa, Lígia Teixeira, Selwyn Button, and Emily Gates * Why context and Country matter in evaluation * What a smaller conference makes possible * What Christabelle and Alison are personally hoping to take away Resources mentioned: * AES 2026 Conference [https://www.aes26.aes.asn.au/] * Australian Evaluation Society [https://www.aes.asn.au/] * It Depends Episode 7 with Emily Gates [https://www.fpconsulting.com.au/rethinking-systems-evaluation-emily-gates.html] If you like what you hear sign up for our mailing list [https://fpconsulting.kit.com/]! We share resources, publications, and other ways to learn. You can also find FPC on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-person-consulting-pty-ltd/], or visit our website [http://fpconsulting.com.au/].

#20 Be Bold and Lift the Bar: Lived Experience, Dignity and Systems Change with Diana Connell

In this special episode, Matt and Tenille speak with Diana Connell - lived experience advocate, ambassador for McAuley Community Services for Women [https://www.mcauley.org.au/] and Global Sisters [https://globalsisters.org/], and a powerful voice for systems change across family violence, housing and economic security. Diana shares her story of surviving two decades of family violence, becoming homeless with her two children, and the journey that led her into her advocacy and systems change work. She walks us through what genuine co-design with lived experience actually looks like, the importance of creating space for change, slowing down, and crucially what dignity actually looks like. We talk about the Safe at Home Trial [https://www.safeathome.org.au/] in Geelong (a continuation of the conversation from Episode 18 with Jocelyn Bignold [https://www.fpconsulting.com.au/the-gap-in-the-middle-is-homelessness-jocelyn-bignold]), the deep interconnection between family violence, housing and economic security, and the work of Global Sisters in supporting women into economic independence through micro-business, business school and the Little Greenhouses initiative. Diana's message is clear: women deserve more than just to survive. We all need to be bold, lift the bar, and build something incredible together. In this episode we cover: * The link between family violence, homelessness and economic insecurity * What genuine co-design with lived experience looks like in practice * The Safe at Home Trial and the case for early intervention * Global Sisters and economic independence for women * Fair pay, trauma-informed practice, and meaningful inclusion * Why one seat at the table is never enough Resources mentioned: * McAuley Community Services for Women [https://www.mcauley.org.au/] * Global Sisters [https://globalsisters.org/] * Safe at Home Trial [https://www.safeathome.org.au/] * WEstjustice Community Legal Centre [https://www.westjustice.org.au/] * Council to Homeless Persons [https://chp.org.au/] * It Depends Episode 18 with Jocelyn Bignold [https://www.fpconsulting.com.au/the-gap-in-the-middle-is-homelessness-jocelyn-bignold] If you like what you hear sign up for our mailing list [https://fpconsulting.kit.com/]! We share resources, publications, and other ways to learn. You can also find FPC on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-person-consulting-pty-ltd/], or visit our website [http://fpconsulting.com.au/].

#19 Beyond Sticky Notes: Beauty, Power, Patience and Practice with KA McKercher

What if most communities don't actually need a new co-design project — just someone to notice and strengthen what's already there? KA McKercher is a co-design and co-production facilitator, trainer and professional supervisor, founder of Beyond Sticky Notes [https://www.beyondstickynotes.com/], and author of the book of the same name. In this conversation, they unpack why good co-design is as much about beauty, choice and relationships as it is about methods — and draw on more than 15 years of practice to explain how "purpose" can quietly hide power, why endings matter as much as beginnings, and what it takes to build disability justice into how we do this work. We also get into the implicit promise that comes with the word "co-design," why seasonality should shape the pace of change, and when not to co-design. We cover: * The difference between doing co-design and just running a process that borrows the language * "Whose purpose is this?" as the most important upstream question * Choice, access and disability justice as core principles, not add-ons * Endings, promises and what it takes to do them with dignity * When not to co-design, and what to do instead If you like what you hear sign up for our mailing list [https://fpconsulting.kit.com/]! We share resources, publications, and other ways to learn. You can also find FPC on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-person-consulting-pty-ltd/], or visit our website [http://fpconsulting.com.au/]. Resources Mentioned * Beyond Sticky Notes [https://www.beyondstickynotes.com/] — KA's practice, courses and free resources on co-design * Beyond Sticky Notes (the book) [https://www.beyondstickynotes.com/tellmemore] — KA's accessible guide to doing co-design for real * Kowa Collaboration [https://www.kowacollaboration.com/] — Skye Trudgett's practice, referenced by KA * The Relationship Is the Project [https://relationshipsproject.org/the-relationships-project-book/] — recommended by KA as an essential read * Mia Mingus [https://leavingevidence.wordpress.com/] — on accountability, conflict and transformative justice * It Depends: Episode 14 with Jesse Robinson [https://www.fpconsulting.com.au/to-be-a-good-human-jessie-robinson] — on sitting in relationships before the formal work begins * It Depends: Episode 9 with Emma Blomkamp [https://www.fpconsulting.com.au/co-design-purpose-emma-blomkamp.html] — on being clear about your purpose in co-design * It Depends: Episode 3 with Skye Trudgett [https://www.fpconsulting.com.au/indigenous-data-sovereignty-skye-trudgett.html] — on Indigenous data sovereignty and Indigenous-led evaluation For the full list of resources, visit the episode page [https://www.fpconsulting.com.au/beauty-beyond-sticky-notes-ka-mckercher.html].

#18 The Gap in the Middle Is Homelessness: From Systems Mapping to Safe at Home with Jocelyn Bignold

Family violence is the leading cause of homelessness in Australia. Everything in the system — community expectations, child protection, housing support payments — pushes women to leave. And yet there's nowhere affordable for them to go. The gap in the middle is homelessness. In this episode, we speak with Jocelyn Bignold, CEO of McAuley Community Services for Women [https://www.mcauley.org.au/], about the deep intersection between family violence and homelessness, and what happens when we flip the script. Jocelyn walks us through the Safe at Home trial [https://www.safeathome.org.au/] in Geelong and Barwon, which is supporting whole families to stay safe — with zero critical incidents and no homelessness across 23 households so far. We also dig into how systems mapping became McAuley's "North Star," why early intervention means different things to different parts of the system, and what it takes to turn curiosity into action when the problem feels too big. Key topics: * The intersection of family violence and homelessness * How the Safe at Home trial works — and what it's revealing * Systems mapping as a tool for seeing the bigger picture * Redefining early intervention through lived experience * Scaling from a pilot without losing what makes it work * The role of curiosity, boldness, and partnerships in systems change Links & resources: * Safe at Home [https://www.safeathome.org.au/] * McAuley Community Services for Women [https://www.mcauley.org.au/] * AIHW Specialist Homelessness Services Annual Report [https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/specialist-homelessness-services-annual-report/contents/about] * Systems Sandbox Episode: Systems Thinking as Process and Product with Jocelyn Bignold — Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2-systems-thinking-as-process-and-product-with/id1769960417?i=1000671893486] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/episode/2syhSEbvzKR7Fk3jiwNAZN?si=-Jt5eBDMQp63mX5fgODYog] Subscribe so you never miss an episode: * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/7MZQDpf2yE7i1Zp2nNC34y] * Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-it-depends-podcast-with-matt-and-tenille/id1824774443] * Podbean [https://itdependspodcast.podbean.com/] Connect with us on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-person-consulting-pty-ltd]

#17 From Why to How: Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention with Michael Flood

What does it take to engage men and boys in preventing domestic and sexual violence — and what separates the work that actually shifts things from the kind that doesn’t? Professor Michael Flood is an internationally recognised researcher at Queensland University of Technology and one of Australia’s leading voices on men, masculinities, and violence prevention. With over 30 years of experience spanning research, community education, and pro-feminist advocacy, he has spent his career not just studying this field but actively building it. In this conversation, he traces the shift from arguing why men and boys should be engaged in this work to the harder, more important question of how — and what makes some approaches genuinely effective while others fall short. Michael explores the distinct challenges of violence prevention compared to other men’s health work, why most men privately reject violence-supportive attitudes but stay silent anyway, how the man box constrains the men inside it as much as those around them, and why the language we reach for — from “toxic masculinity” to “healthy masculinity” — can either open doors or close them. He also reflects on the broader conversation about men in crisis, what’s driving it, and why building communities of support among men may matter more than we realise. If you like what you hear, sign up for our mailing list! We share resources, publications, and other ways to learn. You can also find Matt and Tenille on LinkedIn, or visit our website. Resources mentioned in this episode: * XY Online [https://xyonline.net/] — one of the world’s largest resources on men and masculinities, for parents, educators, policymakers, and everyday people * The Man Box [https://jss.org.au/programs/research/the-man-box/] — Jesuit Social Services research on the costs of rigid masculine norms for men, boys, and those around them * Our Watch [https://www.ourwatch.org.au/] — Australia’s national organisation for the primary prevention of violence against women and children * White Ribbon Australia [https://www.whiteribbon.org.au/] — campaign mobilising men to take active roles in preventing domestic and sexual violence