Meet the 2025 SIMNA Awards Finalists!
We are delighted to announce our 2025 SIMNA Awards finalists!
We received a fantastic array of high-calibre applications from organisations of all sizes and types, including not-for-profits, social enterprises and corporates, working throughout Australia. Our sincerest gratitude goes to our 2025 Judging Panel for generously volunteering their time and expertise in the field of social impact measurement to select our finalists.
And the 2025 SIMNA Awards Finalists are…
Excellence in Social Impact Measurement
- Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal
- Global Sisters
- Hands Up Mallee
- Operation Flinders Foundation and For-Purpose Evaluations
- Redkite
- Starlight Children’s Foundation
Watch their pitch videos or read more below!
Innovative Design in Social Impact Measurement
- 15 Times Better
- Brightwater Research Centre
- The BUSY Group
Watch their pitch videos or read more below!
Outstanding Collaboration in Social Impact Measurement
- Milk Crate Theatre
- The Salvation Army Australia
- Top Blokes Foundation
- VAADA
Watch their pitch videos or read more below!
Learn more about each of the finalists
Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal
Project: Future Drought Fund’s Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative
The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF), and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), in partnership with Nous Group, are finalists for their evaluation of the Future Drought Fund’s Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiative. Conducted from 2023 to 2025, this $29.6 million program, funded by the Australian Government and delivered by FRRR and ARLF, supported over 61,000 participants across 438 local government areas through 232 community-led projects. These initiatives built local capacity, strengthened networks, and enhanced social resilience to future droughts. Social impact measurement was central to the evaluation, combining a clear theory of change, participatory stakeholder engagement, and outcomes-based metrics. Using a mixed-methods approach, drawing on data from reports, interviews, surveys, and case studies, the evaluation provided a comprehensive understanding of how the program fostered lasting community preparedness and capability.
Global Sisters
Project: Solo Mums Parenting Payment Single (PPS) Demonstration Project: Welfare Reform for Self-Employment
The Solo Mums Parenting Payment Single (PPS) Demonstration Project is a three-year initiative by Global Sisters, helping 300 solo mothers on income support achieve financial independence through self-employment. Co-designed with OSII NSW and informed by ten years of impact data, the project addresses structural barriers that prevent women from fully participating in the economy. Funded by the AMP Foundation, Paul Ramsay Foundation, and OSII NSW, it aims to demonstrate that self-employment is a viable alternative to traditional job-seeking and to influence welfare reform. Social impact measurement is embedded through timebound milestones and verified outcomes, ensuring robust, quantifiable evidence to support policy change across Employment and Welfare systems, empowering solo mothers nationwide.
Hands Up Mallee
Project: Hands Up Mallee
Hands Up Mallee (HUM) is a place-based systems-change initiative in Mildura, Victoria, working with community, services, and government to co-design local solutions that help families and children thrive. Guided by its vision for a connected community, HUM integrates community voice, data and research to drive collective action. From 2020–2023, HUM and partners, including the Centre for Community Child Health, ARACY and Clear Horizon, developed a comprehensive Measurement, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) approach, featuring an overarching framework, age-specific models and project-level MEL plans. Using its “three-legged stool” model of research, data and community insights, HUM ensures transparent, collaborative evaluation. Building on its 2022 SIMNA Collaboration Award, HUM continues to strengthen social impact measurement and achieve lasting change across the Mildura region.
Operation Flinders Foundation and For-Purpose Evaluations
Project: Social Impact Measurement Framework – Operation Flinders
For-Purpose Evaluations in partnership with Operation Flinders Foundation, has been recognised as a finalist for its work developing a comprehensive Social Impact Measurement Framework. For over 34 years, Operation Flinders has transformed the lives of more than 10,000 young South Australians aged 13–18 through remote outback adventure programs in the northern Flinders Ranges. These eight-day treks featuring challenges such as abseiling, bushcraft and cultural learning build resilience, optimism, belonging and purpose among young people experiencing trauma, disadvantage or disengagement from school. In 2023, the Foundation partnered with For-Purpose Evaluations to embed consistent, evidence-based impact measurement across all programs. The framework has strengthened program design, strategic decision-making and financial sustainability, while ensuring transparent reporting to schools, volunteers, funders and the community. This approach has turned powerful personal stories into measurable outcomes that demonstrate Operation Flinders’ lasting impact on young lives.
Redkite
Project: Redkite’s Family Voices Research
Redkite is a national not-for-profit organisation that has supported children and young people with cancer, along with their families, for over 40 years. Providing practical, emotional and financial assistance from diagnosis through to bereavement, Redkite ensures families are never alone through the challenges of childhood cancer. In 2024, Redkite conducted its Family Voices Research to evaluate the real-world impact of its services. Co-designed with the Lived Experience Advisory Group, the national survey gathered insights from over 400 participants to assess outcomes against Redkite’s Client Outcomes Framework. Combining quantitative and qualitative data, the research confirmed the program’s strong impact while highlighting opportunities for continuous improvement, reinforcing Redkite’s commitment to learning, accountability, and creating meaningful change for families nationwide.
Starlight Children’s Foundation
Project: Starlight Wishgranting Program Evaluation
Starlight Children’s Foundation’s Wishgranting Program, established in 1988, is its flagship initiative bringing hope and joy to seriously ill children and their families. Having granted over 11,000 unique wishes across Australia, the program provides uplifting experiences, such as travel, special items, or celebrity meetings, tailored to each child’s dreams. Beyond creating cherished memories, research shows that wishes foster optimism, family connection and emotional wellbeing during difficult treatment journeys. Starlight has implemented a rigorous, child-centred evaluation framework grounded in a Theory of Change and program logic model. Using interviews with wish participants, quarterly comparative reports and child-friendly evaluation tools, the program measures outcomes including wellbeing, family cohesion, social connection, and respite. This evidence-based approach demonstrates consistently high satisfaction and identifies seven key impact pathways, ensuring continuous program improvement and reinforcing the transformative power of a Starlight Wish.
15 Times Better
Project: 15xB Impact Assessment
15 Times Better (15xB), a First Nations-owned and led consultancy, has developed the 15xB Impact Assessment, an innovative online diagnostic tool that benchmarks how effectively organisations create First Nations impact. Drawing on over 50 years of combined experience, the tool measures readiness across seven key areas: strategy, employment, procurement, engagement, partnerships, governance and cultural respect. Using a structured logic model, it identifies gaps, quantifies risks and highlights pathways toward stronger, more sustainable impact. In partnership with global experts SoPact, 15xB enables ongoing impact measurement beyond a one-time assessment—an Australian first in the reconciliation sector. Already piloted by 20 organisations, including Bupa and IFM Investors, the tool is driving measurable transformation in First Nations employment, leadership and inclusion.
Brightwater Research Centre
Project: The Brightwater Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Toolkit
Brightwater Care Group, a leading aged care and disability service provider in Western Australia, has developed the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Toolkit to strengthen its ability to measure and demonstrate social impact. Created by the Brightwater Research Centre in collaboration with Curtin University and internal working groups, the Toolkit provides practical guidance on evaluation principles, stakeholder engagement, ethical data collection and outcome measurement. Rather than prescribing one approach, it promotes consistent, high-quality evaluation practice across Brightwater’s 22 communities, home-based services and research programs across Perth. By embedding evaluation into everyday work, the MEL Toolkit fosters continuous learning, evidence-based decision-making and improved client outcomes. Currently in its pilot phase, the Toolkit has strong potential to inform best practice across the broader aged care and disability sectors.
The BUSY Group
Project: From Framework to Fabric
The BUSY Group has expanded from its Australian roots into the UK and New Zealand, continuing its mission to improve lives through education, skills and employment. As the organisation grew globally, it recognised the need to embed impact thinking into its core strategy, moving from isolated examples of excellence to a unified, organisation-wide practice. This transformation began with the creation of a global Theory of Change, forming the foundation for BUSY’s new Impact Measurement Framework and supporting data systems. Together, these tools provide a shared language of impact, connecting teams and programs across borders. More than measuring outcomes, BUSY’s approach embeds continuous learning, evidence and purpose, turning its impact framework into part of the organisation’s fabric and driving lasting, meaningful change.
Milk Crate Theatre
Project: Creating Impact
Creating Impact, led by Milk Crate Theatre, is a sector-shaping initiative bringing together arts organisations, funders, and impact measurement experts to co-design and pilot a shared impact framework for community-engaged arts. Responding to challenges like siloed practices, unclear knowledge ownership, and limited benchmarking, the project convened a National Social Impact Roundtable to map sector strengths and needs. Structured in four phases, State of the Sector, Co-design, Pilot Implementation, and Analysis & Report, the initiative is currently testing the framework in real-world settings. Supported by Social Ventures Australia and Huber Social, Creating Impact aims to elevate the credibility, visibility, and sustainability of community-engaged arts, providing practical insights and a shared methodology for measuring and amplifying social impact across the sector.
The Salvation Army Australia
Project: Homelessness National Outcomes Measurement Pilot
The Homelessness National Outcomes Measurement Pilot, led by The Salvation Army (TSA), aims to evaluate the impact of its homelessness services across Australia. TSA supports adults and families through accommodation, case management, outreach, and financial assistance, delivering over 100 programs with 700+ staff. The project developed the National Homelessness Outcomes Measurement Framework in collaboration with homelessness specialists, frontline staff, lived experience representatives, and TSA’s data team. The framework balances standardised national indicators with flexibility for local contexts, using trauma-informed, strengths-based tools combining established instruments with TSA-specific questions. A 12-month pilot across 23 services refined the tools and framework, enhancing relevance and uptake. By amplifying client voices and informing decision-making, the pilot strengthens service improvement and prepares for national rollout in November 2025.
Top Blokes Foundation
Project: Top Blokes Impact Architecture Project
Top Blokes, launched in 2006, has grown from a local award for young men into one of Australia’s largest mentoring organisations for males. Since 2013, over 25,000 young men have participated in three evidence-based programs: the 10–13 Program (emotional literacy and decision-making), the 14–17 Program (mental health, self-identity, teamwork, leadership), and the 18–24 Program (workplace wellbeing). Weekly sessions are led by consistent, qualified Youth Workers, creating safe, supportive spaces where participants can connect and be themselves. Social impact measurement has been ongoing since 2016, and in 2024, the Top Blokes Impact Architecture Project further strengthened evaluation practices through collaborative development, producing a robust measurement framework aligned with organisational values.
VAADA
Project: VAADABase
VAADABase is a sector-led data collaboration initiative developed by the Victorian Alcohol and Other Drug Association (VAADA) in partnership with Latitude Network and over 15 AOD treatment providers across Victoria, expanding further in 2026. Launched in 2022, it addresses a long-standing challenge: while organisations collect valuable client data, timely analysis and actionable insights have been limited. VAADABase integrates de-identified data from the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Collection (VADC) into co-designed dashboards, giving agencies access to both their own insights and anonymised sector-wide trends. Social impact measurement is central, enabling the sector to track reach, client needs, health and psychological outcomes, and gaps. These insights support strategic planning, advocacy, and continuous improvement, strengthening the sector’s collective intelligence and improving outcomes for clients and communities.
As part of the 2025 Awards, we also promoted a Social Impact Measurement in Funding, Investment and Grantmaking category. Previously known as the Leading Funder in Social Impact Measurement Award, this category was reviewed and revised last year to reflect the unique challenges of measuring the impact of initiatives, or portfolios of initiatives, that organisations support but do not manage directly.
While this category attracted a good level of interest last year, unfortunately this year we did not receive enough applications to warrant a competitive awards process. We are reflecting on why that might be, and what we might do differently next year. If this category aligns with your work or interests, we encourage you to consider applying next year. Your insights and experience could help strengthen the field of social impact measurement and inspire others to follow your lead.
Keen to know who will take the top spot in each category?
All our finalists are already winners, but we proudly invite you to join us online for the 2025 SIMNA Awards Ceremony as we announce who our judges felt stood out in each category and celebrate everyone who has played a part in this year’s awards.
Date: Friday 28 November 2025
Time: 12:00-2:00 PM AEDT*
Location: Online (Zoom)
*That’s 12:00-2:00 PM in ACT, NSW, TAS, VIC / 11:30 AM-1:30 PM in SA / 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM in QLD / 10:30 AM -12:30 PM in NT and 9:00-11:00 AM in WA