Who we are
Our purpose, principles and approach
Troubled Dog is run by Carrie Lumby who has an extensive background in community engagement, advocacy and development. She has contributed to a wide range of social innovation activity in roles spanning community organising, strategic advocacy and arts-led initiatives. She has also worked in public policy as the National Mental Health Commission's inaugural Director, Lived Experience - the first senior designated Lived Experience position in the Australian Public Service.
Carrie has facilitated many consultation processes across a wide range of regional, state and national system improvement initiatives. These processes have brought together service providers, professional experts, and the people and communities most affected by a variety of complex issues, including suicide, domestic and sexualised violence, homelessness, chronic health conditions, and institutional abuse. She also regularly consults to governments and organisations wanting to more effectively engage lived experience expertise and strengthen their capacity for participatory ways of working.
See an overview of the knowledge, skills and experience that Carrie draws on here.
Our approach
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design for equity and justice and hold ourselves accountable to these principles in the way we work.
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maintain trust by being honest and realistic about a project's scope upfront, including the level of participation achievable.
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understand how to work with power across difference, taking a rights-based approach to participation.
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promote open and ongoing communication, including about project outcomes to the people and communities most impacted by them.
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build partnerships based on trust by working in a relational way, prioritising people and communities beyond individual projects.
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sustain commitment to adaptive learning through reflective practice and by inviting feedback about what we could do better.
Participatory approaches such as ‘co-design’ and 'co-production' are broadly promoted, but not always well understood or implemented with integrity to their intent. The way we work supports good practice because we: