Sticking points: Why the ‘glue’ helps Early Childhood Hubs thrive
Exploring what holds hubs together and how we make integration core to system design.
Early Childhood Hubs (ECHs) are increasingly seen as a powerful way to integrate early learning, health, allied health, and family support in trusted, community-based settings. Yet much of the work that makes hubs effective – the “glue” of integration – remains overlooked, underfunded, and invisible in policy and funding frameworks. Sticking points examines this hidden infrastructure: what enables integration, what stands in the way, and what government and integrated service models can do to unlock its full impact.
This paper builds on the foundational work by SVA and dandolopartners in the Approaches to integration in the early years: learnings for impact report and draws on real-world examples to identify five core domains that underpin successful integration:
- Relational infrastructure
- Cross-sector governance and distributed leadership
- Coordination systems and backbone infrastructure
- Physical and place-focused design
- Collective care and accountability.
The paper calls for a shift from short-term, program-specific funding to long-term, system-wide approaches that embed integration in policy, funding, and practice. See the paper for key recommendations.
Done well, ECHs become more than co-located services; they function as cohesive systems that improve outcomes for families and drive broader system reform.
