My involvement with GROW came about when Colac Area Health become compact signatories. There are several parts of the organisation that are connected to GROW in different ways. My involvement with GROW is due to the fact I oversee both procurement and the unskilled workforce in the food services department.
Becoming a compact signatory has enabled us to formalise our local procurement strategic and focus efforts to be mindful to purchase both locally and socially. We have a contract with a local social enterprise to maintain our lawns and are now purchasing things like milk from the local area where beforehand it was being purchased from Northern Victoria and southern New South Wales. We are more mindful when engaging companies on how they conduct their business and if they are using local and social procurement practices.
As a result of Colac Area Heath becoming a compact signatory I have also made the connection between GROW and HPV (Health Purchasing Victoria) in the hope that they will shift their focus from city-centric purchasing and consider local purchasing options for organisations in rural areas.
What is a Most Significant Change story?
The Most Significant Change (MSC) technique is a form of monitoring and evaluation that involves the collection of significant change stories across the GROW collective. This MSC story was collected as part of the GROW Review, where a total of 35 stories were collected. Participants at a Summit Workshop in February 2019 were asked to select the story that had the most significant for them. This story was selected by participants at the Summit workshop because:
‘It made us feel good. Inspirational. A good news story of one organisation using GROW to influence and change at the individual and organisational level.
- It shows the strength of having ‘GROW’ behind you to make change
- Turning resources into data
- Embracing the purpose of GROW
- Using GROW for everything it was intended for – change
- GROW as the impetus for change. Using the tools and templates
- Encouraging business to put pen to paper – All facets
- Rigour and structure behind the purchasing’
