Exploring Tasmania’s Connected Culture through Place Branding: A Collaboration between Brand Tasmania, DPAC and Folket Consultancy
In this project, we partnered with Brand Tasmania and the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPAC) to explore Tasmania's connected culture and its implications for addressing societal challenges. Leveraging Brand Tasmania's extensive research and engagement activities, alongside our expertise at Folket Consultancy, we aimed to uncover the nuances of Tasmanian culture and connectedness.
Understanding Tasmania's Deep Sense of Connectedness
The Commissioner of Inquiry (CoI) into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings highlighted Tasmania’s unique culture and history. The CoI underscored Tasmania's deep sense of connectedness, rooted in factors such as its small population, cultural homogeneity, and geographic isolation. It noted this culture contributed to an environment which “deterred victim-survivors, their families and others from reporting child sexual abuse in institutional contexts and have also contributed to poor responses to reports of abuse.”
The CoI noted the social connections in Tasmania “are frequently close and deep, established over generations” and this reflects Brand Tasmania’s own research that Tasmanians “are connected to each other, and to this place.”
However, where Brand Tasmania has identified connectedness as leading to “a uniquely Tasmanian spirit of cooperation” the Commission found that our connectedness can be a source of harm, and that the sense of connection that runs deep in Tasmanian communities may have deterred people from speaking up about abuse.
A Collaborative Project: DPAC, Brand Tasmania, and Folket Consultancy
Following the CoI's insights into Tasmania’s culture, the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPAC) sought to explore the positive and negative aspects of connectedness within the Tasmanian community. The objective was to use these insights to inform future policy to effectively address societal issues in the state. To achieve this, DPAC worked in partnership with Brand Tasmania and engaged the team at Folket Consultancy to conduct the research. The project manager was Jessica Radford, Director of Place Branding and Operations at Brand Tasmania. The Folket team consisted of Dr Meghan Bond and Linda Karlsson, providing expertise in research, data analysis and communications.
Analysing Tasmanian Culture and Connectedness using Place Branding Insights
In this project, we focused on identifying how connectedness shapes societal dynamics, examining instances where it impedes action, and exploring potential solutions. We worked directly in collaboration with Brand Tasmania to achieve this. Since launching in 2018, the Brand Tasmania team, led by CEO Todd Babiak, has conducted hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with individual Tasmanians across the state. Brand Tasmania has produced reports, stories and documents about what makes Tasmania and Tasmanians unique. Brand Tasmania has also delivered workshops, surveys, roadshows, co-design processes, and wider engagement activities. DPAC was interested in gathering these rich insights on Tasmanian community and culture from Brand Tasmania and Folket Consultancy was tasked to facilitate the work and conduct the research. We did this by:
Leveraging Brand Tasmania's extensive research and engagement activities, Folket Consultancy facilitated workshops and data analysis to explore Tasmanian culture and connectedness.
The analysis focused on understanding the cultural uniqueness, identifying instances where connectedness inhibited action, and exploring levers to address adversity within Tasmanian communities.
From Workshop Design to Final Summary Report
Folket Consultancy always commence a project with an explorative session to understand the needs of the client, key objectives and goals. Following this, we design the process and preferred methods to achieve the right outcomes. This job consisted of six steps:
Workshop Design: We designed a workshop to define project objectives, develop research questions, and identify relevant resources.
Primary Data Collection: We collaborated with the Brand Tasmania team members to gather primary data on Tasmanian culture and connectedness using their insights and expertise.
Data Analysis: We used NVivo, a qualitative research software program to analyse primary and secondary data, applying a system change lens to explore underlying dynamics.
Draft Summary Report: Following the above steps we produced a draft summary report summarising findings from the analysis and presenting initial recommendations.
Feedback and Refinement: We then hosted a feedback session with Brand Tasmania and DPAC on the draft report. It was an opportunity to dive deep into the findings of the report and discuss questions. We then refinied the final version to ensure alignment with project objectives.
Final Summary Report: Finally, we delivered a final report incorporating feedback, providing an in-depth analysis and recommendations for future research and policy initiatives.
The research shed light on the complexities of Tasmanian connectedness, informing policy decisions and initiatives aimed at addressing societal issues. It offered a new way of utilising place brand methods and Brand Tasmania’s insights to inform policy and community development within government.
For more information about place branding and Folket Consultancy, please contact us.
About Brand Tasmania
Brand Tasmania is Australia’s first statutory place-branding authority, created under the Brand Tasmania Act 2018. Brand Tasmania launched in 2019 as a new model for place-branding, based on research, a unifying cultural expression, and a project-based strategy. Brand Tasmania help Tasmanians express the Tasmanian brand. For more information, visit the Brand Tasmania website.
About Folket Consultancy
Hej! "Folket" is Swedish and means "The People", think 'folks' in English. We’re a boutique consultancy based in lutruwita/Tasmania. Founded by Linda Karlsson, Folket Consultancy is a collective of experienced consultants. Our team of folks love to work on collaborative projects that create an impact in our communities. Between us, we offer expertise in evaluation, research, facilitation of workshops and community consultation, co-design and program development, community and stakeholder engagement, as well as strategic communication. We tailor our team and services to your needs. Do you think you have a Folket job? Let’s explore how we can collaborate, contact Folket Consultancy here.