Centre for Impact & Change

The Centre for Impact & Change provides research, evaluation and impact measurement expertise to the Australian social sector.  We are committed to addressing the complex challenges that face Australian communities and supporting organisations to seize opportunities and maximise their impact.

Led by Maria Tchan and Dr Allison Salmon, The Centre places people and evidence at the heart of organisation’s strategies and services.  We are curated a team of diverse and talented collaborating partners who specialise in: Research and Evaluation; Evidence Translation; Digital Strategy and Data Analytics; Impact Measurement; Learning and Development; Design and Communication.

We work across and with the not-for profit, government and philanthropic sectors to drive impact and change.

Our projects span health, alcohol and other drugs, suicide prevention, mental health, youth, disability, aged care, LGBTIQA+, community services.

Our Services include:

• Strategy & Design We partner with organisations to embed a culture of strategic thinking, build strategic plans, and design new services, frameworks, and practices.
• Impact Measurement Our approach is design-led, and we deliver clear impact frameworks that start with a theory of change to drive meaningful and measurable outcomes.
• Evaluation We support organisations to design and deliver rigorous and insightful evaluations using participatory methods, place-based approaches, and quality improvement cycles.
• Capability Building We offer mentoring and training in strategy, evaluation and impact measurement to frontline workers, service managers, and leadership teams. We aim to inspire immediate action and give participants ‘starter tools’ and actionable steps to measure and showcase impact.

Our Strengths include:

• Deep understanding of the social sector enabling us to navigate the complex landscape.
• Ability to address client challenges by quickly grasping complex problems and facilitating hard conversations.
• Effective relationship building skills to inspire and motivate others to achieve positive change.
• Expertise to work alongside people with lived and living experience and ensure the integration of their unique perspectives.
• Experience in combining scientific rigour and participatory design to measure and communicate social sector impact.

Maria Tchan (B. Nursing, MPH) has championed social sector change for over two decades. Her diverse experience has equipped her with the drive, skills, and a deeply held passion to help tackle complex and challenging problems and design and implement effective services that have real and lasting impact. She has worked extensively with vulnerable populations across remote, regional, and metropolitan Australia. Maria has worked within the sector she supports as a clinician and not-for-profit senior leader. Prior to her work with the Centre, she led not-for-profit services and developed special interest and expertise in primary care and community health, digital mental health, and working alongside people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Dr Allison Salmon For over 25 years, Dr Allison Salmon (B. Psych, MPH, PhD) has been passionate about using evidence and innovation to change health policies, systems and practices. As a leading public health researcher, evaluator, and practitioner she combines her senior leadership experience and academic training to drive and measure impact across the Australian social sector. As Co-Founder and Director of Change, she brings a wealth of experience to evaluations, strategic planning, stakeholder consultation, gap analyses, and impact measurement.

Maria and Allison have created an innovative, for-purpose enterprise that addresses complex problems and supports social sector organisations to show their impact and create change.