Larissa Andrews and Natalie Jurisic share their thoughts, learnings and reflections from attending the 2025 Social Impact Summit.

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Thanks to SIMNA’s support, we recently attended the Social Impact Summit hosted by ImpactInstitute at UTS’s Aerial Function Centre. Over two days the summit brought together delegates from social, public, and corporate sectors, and featured innovative approaches, cross-sector collaboration, and practical workshops providing tools and insights to advance strategy, impact measurement, and systems transformation for real-world social change.

The Power of Human Connection

Following Aunty Noeleen Timbery’s Welcome to Country, the summit commenced with a moving opening keynote from Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, whose story of surviving nearly two years in an Iranian prison—half in solitary confinement—was unforgettable. Her message was profound yet simple: even in the darkest circumstances, authentic human connection is the thing that can sustain you.

This theme of authentic connection wasn’t just rhetoric—it became a key part of the Summit, perfectly captured in the innovative ‘Offers and Needs Market’. Picture speed dating for changemakers! So many new connections were made, around services and skills offered and needed, both on a professional level and more personally – from NDIS navigation support to woodworking expertise. It was networking reimagined, that went far beyond swapping business cards or LinkedIn profiles.

The practical sessions we each attended were all very insightful. Think Impact’s workshop challenged participants to see Social Return on Investment (SROI) not just as a tool for calculating a value ratio but rather as a powerful stakeholder engagement tool. Meanwhile, Huber Social shared fascinating insights from their work drafting impact measurement standards for Standards Australia providing good insight into how the sector is evolving.

The Australian Social Value Bank workshop delivered by Min Seto offered practical tools for standardised social value accounting, while UTS’s Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion team provided step-by-step approaches to developing and communicating theories of change using some great infographics!

The ‘S’ in ESG

Throughout the summit, several sessions focused specifically on the social dimension of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks. This ranged from talking about doughnut economics and social procurement, to place-based wellbeing strategies.

A standout panel session – ‘The transformative power of consortia’, explored how through identifying common purpose, greater progress can be achieved. The panel also tackled the challenging realities of consortia – how governance structures, sector politics, power imbalances, and ‘possessiveness over accolades’ can all threaten effective collaboration and partnership. These honest conversations about structural barriers—including racism and cultural incompetency—emphasised why co-design and authentic partnerships matter.

‘Courage in Complexity: practices to realise systems change’ brought together an expert panel to explore how systems change can be achieved through sound evidence, inclusive engagement with diverse stakeholders, trust and relationship building, and collaborative action.

Stimulating Chats In-Between Sessions

Perhaps most valuable were the conversations that happened outside structured sessions – with passionate fellow practitioners, policymakers, impact investors and grass-roots changemakers. There was such a diverse mix of attendees who shared:

• Individual and organisational journeys in impact measurement
• Inspirational ideas and success stories in social change 
• Insight into the processes and decision-making around grants and funding

These conversations reminded us why events like the summit are so important. Digital connection is great, but it’s hard to replace the value that face-to-face connection and network-building brings.

Looking Ahead

The summit left us both with more than a handful of practical ideas and sparked energy for looking at aspects of our work differently. Importantly, it also expanded our network of like-minded people and reinforced that social impact work is ultimately about people connecting with people.

Thanks again to SIMNA for making our attendance possible. It was greatly appreciated!

Larissa Andrews and Natalie Jurisic