Skip to content
emeli pauloSoCo / Human Ecosystems / Human Infrastructure Design

Applications

One method, interpreted differently in every setting.

Each application uses the same eight stages. What changes is the context, the authority structure, the cultural knowledge involved and what the community or organisation decides to build.

The method can travel. Culture, authority, language, ownership, history and knowledge remain specific to the people and place.

Projects

A practice archive rather than a client list.

Each entry uses the same case study structure.

Filter the portfolio

Showing 19 of 19 projects

No More Shame

Regional community mapping, Robinvale and Mildura

Context
Community and stakeholder mapping across approximately six regional Victorian communities, with youth, family and Elder engagement.
Emeli's role
Community researcher, mapping lead and facilitator.
Methods
Community and stakeholder mapping, engagement with young people, families and Elders, identification of community strengths and service gaps.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Shaped the Locate and Map stages of Human Ecosystems Design, and the principle that community knowledge is legitimate evidence.
communityFirst Nationsyouthsocial cohesionresearch

Reach Foundation

First Nations and youth community practice

Context
Long-term practice across Alice Springs and Central Australia, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and regional Victoria.
Emeli's role
Facilitator, program designer and facilitator developer.
Methods
Youth camps, school and community programs, Elder engagement, national parks-based learning, train-the-trainer and community-led adaptation.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Established repeat relationships as infrastructure and local capability over external dependency.
First Nationsyouthcommunityfacilitationleadership

Catholic Archdiocese

Reconciliation Action Plan processes and cultural capability

Context
Work across First Nations stakeholders, staff, executives and institutional gatekeepers.
Emeli's role
Facilitator, cultural capability practitioner and partnership builder.
Methods
Reconciliation Action Plan processes, cultural capability training, community engagement and staff facilitation.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Sharpened the distinction between consultation and shared authority, and between symbolic reconciliation and practical change.
First Nationsorganisational culturegovernancefacilitation

The Virtues Project International

Teacher development, Botswana and Namibia

Context
Educational program adaptation with local educators, including engagement concerning San communities and government systems.
Emeli's role
Facilitator and program adaptation practitioner.
Methods
Teacher development, culturally responsive implementation, co-determination of what translated and what required redesign.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Confirmed that imported solutions must become locally interpreted responses.
internationaleducationcommunity

Community placement, Northern Ireland

Post-conflict community learning, Belfast

Context
Approximately ten weeks of cultural and community learning across Falls Road and Protestant community contexts, with communities affected by the Troubles.
Emeli's role
Participant practitioner and community learner.
Methods
Immersive community learning across history, religion, identity, place and inherited conflict.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Reconciliation cannot be externally imposed.
internationalcommunitysocial cohesion

Experiential education program, upstate New York

Youth development with young people from the Bronx and Brooklyn

Context
Approximately three months of experiential education and youth development practice.
Emeli's role
Youth practitioner and facilitator.
Methods
Experiential education, belonging, confidence and participation, adapting programs to lived realities.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Programs must adapt to the lived realities of participants, not the reverse.
internationalyoutheducation

Midsumma

Research, evaluation and organisational practice

Methods
Participatory inquiry, qualitative synthesis and organisational learning.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Informed evidence-to-decision translation within cultural organisations.
researchfeminist practiceorganisational culturecultural systems

ILGA Oceania

Regional research and convening practice

Methods
Participatory inquiry, collective sensemaking and regional facilitation.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Strengthened Pacific relational practice within Human Ecosystems Design applications.
Pacific or Pasifikafeminist practiceresearchgovernance

Pacific Sexual and Gender Diversity Network

Pacific community and movement practice

Methods
Relational practice, leadership development and collective capability.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Shaped the Pacific and Pasifika community infrastructure application.
Pacific or Pasifikafeminist practiceleadershipcommunity

University of Melbourne

Collective Potential impact report

Methods
Qualitative synthesis, evidence-to-decision translation and evaluation framing.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Contributed to the research and evaluation capability grouping.
researcheducationgovernance

Keystone Radiology

Organisational culture and human systems

Methods
Organisational review, decision-making and ways of working design.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Informed the Workplace Human Ecosystems application and 90-day implementation approach.
organisational culturegovernanceleadership

W. L. Gore

Organisational culture and human systems

Methods
Facilitation, culture and ways of working.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Informed practice on distributed authority and role clarity.
organisational cultureleadership

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

Organisational culture and human systems

Methods
Facilitation, leadership and team practice.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Informed large-workforce implementation practice.
organisational culturefacilitation

ICC Sydney

Organisational culture and human systems

Methods
Facilitation and organisational practice.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Informed practice on meetings, communication systems and accountability.
organisational culturefacilitationleadership

CareerSeekers

Organisational culture and inclusion practice

Methods
Facilitation and participatory practice.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Informed Restoring Dignity application development.
organisational culturecommunitysocial cohesion

Safe and Equal

Sector and organisational practice

Methods
Facilitation, participatory inquiry and organisational learning.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Informed feminist practice and repair capability.
feminist practiceorganisational culturegovernance

Medical Pantry

Organisational and social enterprise practice

Methods
Facilitation and systems practice.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Informed social enterprise application of Human Ecosystems Design.
organisational culturecommunity

ASHM

Research and evaluation practice

Methods
Participatory inquiry and evaluation framing.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Contributed to evaluation framework development.
researchgovernanceeducation

Birdcage

Women's leadership and feminist practice

Methods
Leadership retreats, facilitator development and participatory practice.
How it influenced Human Ecosystems Design
Shaped female facilitator development within Human Ecosystems Design capability building.
feminist practiceleadershipcommunity

Experience

Experience organised by capability, not by employment history.

Emeli's role is not simply facilitation. She works as a human systems designer, participatory practitioner, community researcher, pracademic and cultural infrastructure strategist.

Domains of practice

Community development and social cohesion

Regional community mapping, service ecosystem work, youth and family engagement, Elder engagement and community-led program design.

First Nations engagement

Nearly two decades of practice across Central Australia, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and regional Victoria, with repeat community relationships and facilitator development.

Youth leadership and experiential education

Camps, school programs, leadership pathways and experiential learning in Australia and internationally.

International and intercultural education

Northern Ireland, the United States, Botswana and Namibia, including teacher development and culturally responsive program adaptation.

Reconciliation and institutional practice

Reconciliation Action Plan processes, cultural capability programs and work across institutional gatekeeping and shared authority.

Organisational culture and human systems

Governance, decision-making, role clarity, meetings, accountability, ways of working and implementation across health, education, events, hospitality, social impact and professional services.

Feminist practice and gender and sexuality work

Women's leadership, female facilitator development, LGBTQIA+ organisational practice and Pacific and Pasifika feminist practice.

Research, evaluation and pracademic work

Participatory inquiry, qualitative synthesis, collective sensemaking, evaluation frameworks and evidence-to-decision translation.

Impact

An impact register that shows its working.

Measures the register can track

  • years in practice
  • communities engaged
  • countries worked in
  • facilitators trained
  • programs designed
  • workshops and learning experiences
  • participants engaged
  • long-term community relationships
  • funding attracted
  • pilots scaled
  • organisations supported
  • strategic plans developed
  • governance changes influenced
  • local leaders developed
  • programs transferred to communities
  • recommendations implemented
  • policy or funding decisions influenced