Early Years Catalyst – Systems Mapping

Maps the systems shaping early childhood development outcomes in Australia and identifies possible leverage points for change.

The Early Years Catalyst commissioned Orange Compass to undertake a systems mapping process, designed to: 

• Examine the current state of Australia’s early years system, highlighting the underlying challenges and deep forces preventing the best outcomes for all young children and families. 

• Capture the key elements of a shared vision for a future Australian early years system that supports every child and family to thrive.  

• Identify possible leverage points to create transformational change in the early years. 

Method

This work was informed by a participatory engagement process involving more than 300 people from across the country through workshops, interview and surveys. It synthesises a snapshot of published perspectives on what is needed to shift outcomes for Australia’s children.  

Key Findings

• Identifies seven categories of deep forces that are holding the current system and outcomes in place which relate to the structures that underpin the way our social service systems operate as well as deeply held societal beliefs and assumptions about a range of intersecting issues. 

• The field’s vision for a future Australian early years system capable of supporting all children and their families to thrive consists of five key elements corresponding with the role of families, parents and carers, local communities, service systems, government and Australian society as a whole. 

• Most published perspectives on what is needed to shift outcomes for Australian children advocate for structural change; overall these perspectives are largely silent on semi-explicit, relational conditions that influence outcomes for children and families. 

Systems Mapping Publications

• 
  Systems Mapping Report

  Maps the systems shaping early childhood development outcomes in Australia and identifies possible leverage points for change.

• 
  Rapid Review Report

  Explores current perspectives and thought leadership about what is needed to shift outcomes for children in Australia.

• 
  Systems Mapping Summary Report

  Provides a summary of insights set out in the full Systems Mapping Report.

Watch the webinar

In late 2021, the Early Years Catalyst commissioned Orange Compass to undertake a major systems mapping process to better understand the factors influencing early childhood development outcomes in Australia today. This work was informed by more than 300 people from across the country with knowledge and insights of how the early years system currently operates on the ground. 

The systems mapping process generated a range of complex, fascinating and thought-provoking findings – both about how things ‘are’ (the current state) and how they ‘could be’ (the future state). 

In this webinar (presented in September 2022), the Early Years Catalyst and Orange Compass share what they have discovered about the systemic forces at play in the early years field, possible leverage points for change and the implications and next steps for the work of the Early Years Catalyst and wider field.