Driving social impact in Queensland: why ‘feet on the ground’ matter

A conversation with Jack Coghlan, SVA’s Director, Consulting (Qld)

Queensland is big. If it were a country, it would be about the 17th largest in the world by area. This vast distance means that operating in Queensland, a state where relationships matter deeply, requires a unique approach. Travelling from other states for big meetings is one thing, but the real impact happens when you’re here for regular connections, the small events, and the early conversations where the seeds of big ideas are built.

This is the context for SVA’s work in Queensland. We bring national strategic thinking and experience via an on the ground team with the right relationships and enough humility to listen first. To find out more, we spoke with Jack Coghlan, a Brisbane local who – after working with SVA in Sydney, Perth and Melbourne – has led SVA’s consulting work in Queensland since 2021.

Q: You started your career as a mechanical engineer. How does that shape the way you work now?

My background still feels a bit unusual – new clients and connections are often a little intrigued and wonder how I got here.

I still think like an engineer a lot. Consulting is problem solving, and I like getting clear on the problem. I have a real comfort with numbers, and get to apply that to projects with data analysis, demand modelling, cost-benefit analysis, workforce planning, and financial projections. Several times I have been discussing a growth decision that an organisation needs to make – like where to open a new service, how to enhance their case for expansion, or how much investment is required – and am able to suggest and apply a useful numbers-based analysis, which may not always be the first option in the social sector.

What really resonated as my career transitioned from engineering to policy to the social sector was how social issues are a blend of the personal and technical. You are dealing with people, systems, incentives, and history. There is more judgement, more ambiguity to navigate, and more complex relationship management. Even so, I still get to regularly scratch that engineering itch and break down complicated problems, understand the trade-offs, and contribute to good decisions.

Q: Why is being on the ground in Queensland a priority for SVA Consulting? 

Anyone working here could give you the short answer. The sector is highly relationship-based, and driven. Queensland is big in size, but can often feel small. Things aren’t jarringly different from the rest of Australia – Queensland isn’t on another planet but there are a few things that stand out. 

For a while in our consulting team, we had a view that SVA could help clients in Queensland from interstate. Zoom and Teams meetings have changed the game, and you can certainly get up here for a major meeting (and we absolutely do some great work in this way). But it is much harder to build strong and consistent relationships if you’re based interstate, particularly if stakeholders are outside Brisbane. You can’t easily drop in for the smaller moments that help you understand a place or a community and its needs, and those moments matter a lot.      

As well, Brisbane is not a proxy for Queensland. Once you get outside the southeast corner, that is self-evident and the context changes quickly. Regional centres have different networks, histories and operating realities. North Queensland is the clearest example for us, and we are the first to acknowledge a need to adapt how we work without treating it as a generic ‘rest of Queensland’ category. 

Another factor is how the local sector works. People here are deeply connected. They often know each other across government, philanthropy, community services and social enterprise. Interstate colleagues and clients comment on that quite a lot when they spend time here. I do not think Queensland is unique in valuing relationships, but local trust certainly does carry a lot of weight. 

Q: What does that mean for how SVA works here? 

For me, it means national experience is useful, but it does not speak for itself. 

SVA has learned a lot across different states and systems. That is valuable. Our job is to bring that experience into Queensland carefully, with the right relationships and the right local understanding. It’s not appropriate to arrive here with a finished solution. We need to spend time understanding what is already happening, see where national experience is genuinely helpful, and then introduce it in a way that fits the context. 

This is usually where we can add the most value, pairing subject matter expertise with local knowledge and relationships. A current example is our ongoing impact measurement implementation support for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Queensland Section. The Sydney-based SVA project lead – who has worked with other RFDS Sections and similar organisations – is backed up on-the-ground by our Queensland team. That combination tends to travel much better than a generic national model. 

Q: Where are you seeing momentum at the moment? 

The Early Years sector is the clearest example for me. There is real energy in the field, strong philanthropic interest and a willingness to move from discussion into delivery. We have been lucky to support some of that work through impact measurement and strategy, with early years providers like Goodstart Early Learning, who we have supported through an annual social impact study to track impact, inform decisions, and build the case for systemic change. SVA’s Early Years team also continues to drive change nationally and across several states in the early childhood sector. 

Queensland has a longer memory and deeper history in social enterprise than people outside the state sometimes realise. SVA was one part of a solid social enterprise push here in the 2000s, alongside many others. That legacy – the strong organisations, strong connections – is highly visible. You can see it in the ecosystem’s maturity and in the ongoing government interest in partnering with social enterprises and impact investors. 

Q: You’ve spoken a lot about relationships. How important is an ‘extra curricular’ network in Queensland? 

I’m privileged to take part in grant-making as part of a family foundation. It keeps me connected to the part of Brisbane where I grew up, issues that I care about, and the questions local funders and communities are working through. That perspective is useful in my day job because it gives me a close-up view of how dedicated people achieve change on the ground. 

My local team brings that same kind of connection in different ways. Kate Nicklin (Consultant) and Jimmy Abraham (Manager) both volunteer for different causes, including on an education committee for a charity that grants scholarships, and for a grassroots outreach initiative supporting people experiencing homelessness. They learn things and build relationships in these roles that genuinely help their work. It comes from a place of deep passion for social impact – and if you want to truly understand the sector, it helps to be part of the community around it.  

Q: Finally, what is your long-term vision for SVA’s impact in Queensland? 

There is a real opportunity for SVA to build its contribution in Queensland over time. 

I don’t want to make big claims, but I want us to be useful. As I’ve highlighted in this Q&A, we have national expertise and experience that has been hard-earned around Australia. In the right settings, that can be very valuable. The important thing is to contextualise it properly and implement it well.  

We have a small, excellent, growing team here that can lead the charge on SVA making a strong contribution in Queensland. Our priority is to support the amazing work Queensland organisations are already striving to achieve, empowering them with new ideas, evidence and practical experience.