Early Years Catalyst

The Early Years Catalyst brought together twelve founding organisations to tackle challenges in Australia’s early years system. From 2020-2024, the Early Years Catalyst fostered collaboration and built a shared understanding of how different systems impact young children and their families.   

Through participatory research drawing on diverse voices and perspectives, the Early Years Catalyst surfaced rich insights into both the barriers and enablers for change and supported organisations to think systemically about solutions. This work continues to inform efforts to improve outcomes for children experiencing disadvantage.  

SVA was one of twelve founding members of the Early Years Catalyst and also served as the backbone organisation providing ongoing leadership and coordination.  

Outcome

The first phase of the Early Years Catalyst wrapped up in 2024, achieving several key outcomes:  

• Built a strong evidence base through four major research projects, highlighting systemic challenges and opportunities.  
• Distilled evidence into accessible summaries in the Synthesis Report and Journey Brief.
• Expanded engagement with and connections between diverse stakeholders, while also strengthening the field’s capacity for systems change.  
• Empowered organisations with insights and evidence to inform their own strategies to improve outcomes for children and families.  

As the Early Years Catalyst has now formally concluded, SVA is hosting key publications from this initiative to ensure this rich evidence base remains accessible to the field. These reports capture lessons from the Early Years Catalyst’s work and provide valuable guidance for policymakers, practitioners, and funders committed to strengthening early childhood development systems.