Sparking collaboration in Cairns South Together Initiative

The Atlas enabled Mission Australia’s place-based initiative in Cairns South to identify a high concentration of young parents (women aged 15–19 who gave birth), and consequently identified gaps in support services for young fathers. This insight prompted collaboration with another organisation to explore delivering an evidence-based parenting program for young dads.

The Atlas has also prompted a review of paid data solutions within the community collective, finding that 90 per cent of data being accessed was available at no cost on the Atlas platform. This has encouraged a shift towards reinvesting funds into community-led mapping projects and engagement. Additionally, hearing about the project’s core principles has sparked conversations about the need for additional data to support equitable and open access to meaningful indicators.