Helping Community Centres Adopt Social Enterprise-Led Thinking
“When communities are trusted and resourced to lead, the outcomes are deeper, more sustainable and more meaningful. People who engage with their local Centre feel more connected – and when people are connected, communities are stronger and more resilient.”
Right across Australia, there are dedicated community spaces where people gather, connect, learn and grow. Neighbourhood centres, family centres, learning centres, community centres and community resource centres. Collectively, they are referred to as ‘Neighbourhood and Community Resource Centres’.
They cover WA from Broome Circle, Mowanjum and Kununurra Neighbourhood House in the North through to Walpole CRC, Denmark CRC and Rainbow Coast Neighbourhood Centre to the South. Most are community-managed not-for-profits, with some operated by local government. No two Centres are the same – each reflects the needs, strengths and aspirations of its local community.
LinkWest are an Associate Member of our Council. Linkwest has also partnered with WASEC to deliver training and consultancy support, increasing social enterprise literacy across the network and sparking new ideas, confidence and innovation. WASEC spoke to Jane Harwood, CEO of LinkWest, to find out more about how these community centres operate.
Who are LinkWest?
Linkwest is the trusted peak association for Neighbourhood and Community Resource Centres across Western Australia. At its core, Linkwest exists to amplify the voices of place-based community organisations and to strengthen their long-term sustainability – so they can continue delivering meaningful, community-led outcomes now and into the future.
“Our role is to back Centres to do what they do best,” says Jane Harwood, CEO of Linkwest. “That means listening deeply to what’s happening on the ground and making sure Centres have the tools, confidence and support to lead in their own communities.”
Linkwest supports its members through sector advocacy, tailored training, practical resources and collaborative, statewide projects designed to help community-led organisations thrive in a changing environment.
This deep understanding of the sector was reflected in Linkwest’s recent Lotterywest grant success, which enabled the delivery of strategic planning training and direct consultancy support to member Centres. New tools and resources developed through the project were tested and refined alongside Centres and are now available for broader use across the sector, including by small not-for-profits.
“We work very closely with Centres, so the resources we develop are grounded in real-world challenges,” Jane explains. “They’re practical, tested and shaped by the people who will actually use them.”
Building Social Enterprise Thinking Across the Network
The funding landscape for not-for-profit organisations is shifting. Short-term grants and government contracts alone are no longer sufficient to guarantee long-term sustainability, particularly for place-based community organisations responding to complex and evolving local needs.
While Linkwest is not a social enterprise itself, supporting Centres to adopt a social enterprise mindset is a key strategic focus.
“Many Centres are already generating income through fee-for-service activities, hiring out spaces, running programs or sharing expertise,” Jane says. “Historically, that income has been seen as secondary. What we’re seeing now is a shift in thinking.”
That shift recognises that generating independent income can increase autonomy, agility and resilience. By embedding global best-practice social enterprise principles into business planning, Centres are better positioned to reduce reliance on short-term or program-specific funding and to respond more flexibly to local priorities.
“We’d love to see Centres less constrained by funding cycles that can limit innovation,” says Jane. “When Centres have greater financial independence, they’re better able to lead, respond and act on emerging local interests.”
Staying in Place – as part of the Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI).
In 2025–26, Linkwest is convening a Deep Learning Experience Community of Practice as part of the Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI). This statewide project brings together Neighbourhood and Community Resource Centres to explore and strengthen social enterprise capability through a shared focus on Staying in Place.
Staying in Place is an innovative, community-led model that supports people to age well in their own homes and communities – particularly in regional Western Australia.
“For many people in regional areas, ageing can mean having to leave everything familiar behind just to access care,” Jane says. “Staying in Place flips that model by coordinating local support through a trusted community hub.”
Rather than relocating to Perth or larger regional centres, people are supported by a locally activated workforce coordinated through their Community Resource Centre. The model strengthens local employment while keeping people connected to their homes, families and social networks.
Through shared learning, training and collaboration, participating Centres are testing new ideas, building social enterprise capability and documenting tools and insights that can be shared across the sector. Interest in the initiative has extended beyond Centres leading Staying in Place, reflecting the diversity of social enterprise activity across the network, from op shops to eco-cleaning products and other locally driven initiatives.
“Social enterprise looks different in every community,” Jane notes. “What matters is that Centres are learning from each other and building confidence to explore what’s possible in their own context.”
Pingelly Community Resource Centre pioneered the Staying in Place model, with early adopters including Jurien Bay CRC and Dongara CRC now supporting significant numbers of local residents to age well at home. Importantly, surplus income generated through these initiatives is reinvested back into the Centres, benefiting the broader community.
Alongside these established examples, smaller-scale and emerging social enterprise stories are being documented and shared through SEDI funding, ensuring learnings are accessible to Centres at every stage of their journey.
For Jane, this is the work she is most passionate about: place-based and community-led development, strengths-based approaches, and supporting communities across regional and metropolitan Western Australia to thrive on their own terms.
Connect with LinkWest
If you’re working in community development, social enterprise or place-based impact Linkwest would love to connect.
Learn more: www.linkwest.asn.au/SocialEnterprise
Contact Jane: [email protected]