Case Study: Stronger regional council applications for a targeted grants program
Former Queensland Government Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy
The Situation
The Department was preparing to release Round 2 of Building Sustainable Communities, a targeted $1.2 million program supporting 10 regional councils in North West Queensland to strengthen local economies and liveability. High‑quality applications were essential to ensure effective use of public funds and a smooth assessment process.
To support councils and build long‑term capability, the Department engaged Renée to deliver practical grant writing training tailored to the needs of regional council staff.
The approach
Renée was engaged by the Department due to her local North Queensland knowledge, understanding of government funding processes, and experience working in regional communities.
To make the training as useful and relevant as possible, Renée consulted with the Department to understand their expectations for strong applications, and conducted a short survey with the 10 regional councils in the target area.
Renée then delivered an interactive half‑day workshop in Cloncurry for around 15 council staff, covering:
- Information from the Department about the funding available, their expectations, and common mistakes they often saw in grant applications.
- How to plan and develop ideas for grant projects.
- Tips for writing clearly and aligning responses to funding priorities.
- Time for councils to start developing their grant projects, while sharing advice and insights in group discussions.
Following the workshop, Renée provided 1 on 1 mentoring sessions for council staff seeking further support. These sessions helped participants refine their project ideas, check eligibility, strengthen alignment with priority areas, and draft high‑quality responses with real‑time feedback from Renée.
The Result
Feedback from workshop participants and 1 on 1 mentoring participants was highly positive:
✔ Workshop participants said they had a better understanding of what was required for the Building Sustainable Communities funding (feedback score of 4.7 out of 5).
✔ They also said they felt confident about their ability to submit a good quality proposal (4.5 of 5).
✔ Both workshop participants and mentoring participants said that what they learnt would help them with future grant writing in general (4.6 out of 5).
The training not only supported high‑quality applications for this funding round, but also built lasting capability within regional councils, tailored to the needs of North West Queensland.
Looking for tailored grant writing training?
Book a call to discuss your needs.