Get Involved

Be a part of GROW

GROW welcomes all organisations in the G21 region to work together to address disadvantage in our region.

Organisations can sign the GROW Compact, assist in data collection and research, community engagement, sharing information, and brokering new opportunities for local social enterprises and jobs.

---

What small changes can you make to your buying or employment processes to create change for the most vulnerable communities in our region?

The primary, underlying objective of GROW is to address long-term, entrenched, placed based disadvantage in the G21 Region. It does this by focusing on what all the research identifies as the key and consistent element of place-based disadvantage – long-term joblessness. GROW uses a collective impact framework, bringing together philanthropic, business, government and community organisations and making inclusive jobs growth in targeted areas of disadvantage a priority for everyone in the G21 region.

GROW asks partners to develop new business practices or change existing ones to benefit community members living in targeted areas of disadvantage. GROW is a long-term strategy to generate local sustainable jobs, and support job seekers from areas with high rates of unemployment to have equitable access to these opportunities.

All the GROW signatories are committed to integrating the GROW philosophy that a prosperous community cares for the well-being of all its members into their own company’s values and daily operations. The organisations who have joined the GROW Compact (listed here) are now considering the social value of their purchasing decisions, identifying potential training and employment opportunities for job seekers from target areas, and investigating the allocation of their routine operation and project spend to local suppliers and products, in line with their business objectives. Other networks and groups are aligning their activities with GROW, to achieve shared outcomes for our region.

Why join the GROW Compact?

• Stand out as a regional business, network or organisation supporting local and social outcomes
• Be part of local action, sharing good practice and building practical outcomes, leading to new opportunities for projects and partnerships
• Improve your knowledge and expertise in local/social procurement and employment policy and practice
• Be supported to build your own organisation’s dashboard and measure your own progress
• Access to local suppliers, buyers, employees and social enterprises
• Make a difference to the G21 region’s economic prosperity through your support for local businesses and suppliers.

What are the next steps if you are in the G21 region?

• Complete the online form below, to register your interest  to join the GROW G21
• If confirmed as eligible, you will be awarded your GROW Certificate
• Provide baseline expenditure, employment or other relevant data (confidentially) to build your dashboard
• Embed the GROW principles into your organisation by developing your individual Action Plan (with support from the GROW team)
• Become a member of the GROW Networks and access information, tools, case studies, stories and learnings from other GROW members
• Report on your Compact Action Plan after 12 months and prepare for the next iteration.

GROW acknowledges that the ongoing sustainability of each business entails an individualised response to the GROW principles, and will work with each signatory to ensure that this partnership is both achievable and meaningful.

---

GROW action plans

As part of their commitment, GROW signatories design and implement their individual GROW Action Plan.  This involves agreeing to undertaking key actions that contribute to the GROW objectives, while also aligning to their own business objectives.

All GROW signatories agree to ‘Advocate and Collaborate’ which includes the following actions:

Next, GROW Signatories choose actions from the following four categories, that best suit their business:

Spend Local – examples include:

• Review your expenditure to understand opportunities for change (and report to GROW)
• Review the way you make decisions to buy
• Change one or more of your suppliers to a local business

Spend Social – examples include: