Building Bridges Forum
The annual Building Bridges Forum is a NIFVS initiative to address emerging local area need and to enhance collaboration across prescribed services under the MARAM Framework.
About the Building Bridges Forum series
NIFVS are funded by Family Safety Victoria to deliver local area MARAM alignment activities focused on building collaborative networks and practice that respond to identified local barriers.
In 2024 NIFVS delivered its first Building Bridges Forum, which addressed the need to strengthen visibility and collaboration of people using violence services with the wider family violence response sectorDue to the success of this event, Build Bridges is now an annually delivered NIFVS activity.The purpose of the Building Bridges is to provide participants with the opportunity to share diverse perspectives, engage in critical discussion, and to strengthen cross-sector collaboration in line with the MARAM Framework.
Building Bridges events ultimately aim to foster a more connected and proactively collaborative family violence responses system. This constitutes a core part of the strategic work of the Northern Family Violence Regional Integration Committee (FVRIC) and the NIFVS Team.
It was really helpful and insightful. I don’t work in a specific family violence space, so it was good for me to upskill and understand more about sector wide changes, referral pathways, legal obligations, etc.
About:
The inaugural Building Bridges Forum was an all-day online event held on the 5th of June 2024. The event brought together more than 120 leaders and practitioners from across the northern metropolitan region.
The event focused on strengthening visibility and collaboration of people using violence services with the wider family violence response sector.
The Forum was delivered in two parts:
Morning session:
- An ‘expert’ panel session that explored service mapping with Adults Using Violence Services. This session was focused on enhancing visibility and connectivity across the system. The panel discussed service pathways, engagement strategies, as well as identifying opportunities to strengthen the service system for the best outcomes of people experiencing family violence.
Afternoon session:
- Three interactive workshops were run concurrently by sector experts, with attendees rotating throughout the afternoon. The workshops utilised a shared case study to explore three core areas:
a. Deep dive: Information Sharing Schemes
b. Embedding cultural safety and respect with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
c. Culturally informed care when working with migrant and refugee women
Program:
You can download the 2024 Building Bridges Forum program here.
Resources:
Morning Panel Introduction Presentation
Afternoon Session Introduction Presentation
Evaluation Report
Find more information on this edition here.
