We mix social research with human-centred design to create tailored approaches that guide your future priorities and commitments. Our work ensures that decisions are informed by evidence, co-created with stakeholders, and grounded in practical insights that drive meaningful change.
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We combine rigorous research methods with creative design approaches to generate insights and develop practical solutions.
Literature reviews, document analysis, and evidence synthesis to build a strong foundation for decision-making.
Surveys, interviews, and focus groups designed to capture diverse perspectives and generate rich, actionable data.
Collaborative sessions that bring stakeholders together to develop solutions grounded in lived experience and practical expertise.
Translating research insights into clear strategies, action plans, and frameworks that guide organisational priorities.
Developing program logics and outcome pathways that articulate how activities lead to meaningful impact.
Human-centred frameworks and tools that shape how services are delivered, experienced, and improved over time.
We believe that meaningful change starts with understanding. Our approach to research and design emphasises collaboration, rigour, and practical application.
We bring robust methodologies grounded in social research, but always translate these into accessible insights that teams can act on.
Our insights are grounded in data and designed for action
We work alongside those closest to the challenge
Every project is designed to fit your unique needs
A sample of our research and design work, from the many projects we've delivered.
Movember & Cancer Australia
Every person's cancer journey is unique. We listened to people from all walks of life to understand what truly matters in their care—helping shape how the health system asks about and responds to patient needs across Australia.
CSIRO & National AI Centre
We co-developed a Theory of Change and self-assessment toolkit to help Australian companies understand, measure and report on the social, environmental and economic impacts of their AI systems.
North East CMA
VicHealth
Australian Red Cross
Hepatitis Australia
NSW Department of Primary Industries
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Whether you need research insights, a new service model, or a co-designed strategy, we'd love to help you create something meaningful.
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Movember & Cancer Australia
Every person's cancer journey is different. The ripple effects of a diagnosis can be profound—on the body, the mind, and on the people around you. That's why the Pan Cancer Initiative, a partnership between Movember and Cancer Australia, is working to put patients' voices at the heart of cancer care across Australia.
We had the privilege of hearing from people with lived experience of cancer—from regional and rural communities, from diverse cultural backgrounds, from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and from people with diverse gender and sexual identities. Through one-on-one conversations, small group discussions, and an online survey, participants generously shared what truly matters to them when it comes to their care.
Their insights are now helping shape how the health system asks about—and responds to—patient needs. Everyone who shared their story was thanked for their time and contribution. This work is part of a broader effort to ensure that when it comes to cancer care, we don't just assume what people need—we ask.
CSIRO & National AI Centre
CSIRO and the National AI Centre initiated the AI Impact Navigator project under the stewardship of the Responsible AI Think Tank. The Navigator is a mechanism for Australian companies to understand the role of AI in contributing to positive social change, and what is required to foster and maintain trust in the responsible use of AI.
FPC co-developed a Theory of Change and self-assessment toolkit that allows companies to identify where they are on their impact journey, and the ways in which they can be transparent and held accountable to communities. The framework helps companies measure and improve their AI impact across four key dimensions: social licence and transparency, workforce and productivity, effective AI and community impact, and customer experience and consumer rights.
At its core, the Navigator recognises that AI is here to stay—the question is what we do about it to ensure its responsible use. The framework complements the Australian Government's Voluntary AI Safety Standard and uses a continuous improvement cycle (Plan, Act, Adapt) to guide implementation.
North East CMA
In 2019, thirteen senior female leaders from the Water and Catchment sector were recruited into the Insight: Executive Leadership for Women in Water Program. As part of Insight, a supplementary program called Bridging the Gap was introduced, involving six CMA members who each recruited a senior male colleague to explore gender challenges across the sector and plan for sector-wide change.
FPC was engaged to undertake research to understand the drivers, barriers and enablers that impact upon the influence and visibility of women in CMAs. This involved running a series of online focus groups with CMA participants to collect qualitative stories and inform survey design, followed by designing and delivering a large-scale survey to all staff of all 10 CMAs across Victoria.
The research generated valuable insights into the systemic factors affecting women's leadership in the sector, providing evidence to inform targeted interventions and policy changes.
VicHealth
Prior to the release of their new 10-year strategy, VicHealth had committed to adopting a more explicit focus on using systems thinking in their work. FPC was engaged to support this focus through the design and implementation of an organisational change effort.
This involved the development of a 'definition document' for what a systems approach looks like for VicHealth, including roles and language. We ran workshops with the executive team to co-design the definition document before working with managers to scope specific training needs for staff.
Based on these processes, we designed and rolled out training to all staff on systems thinking, mentored 'systems champions', and developed supporting content for the launch of their new strategy. This work now underpins VicHealth's way of working.
Australian Red Cross
Australian Red Cross implemented a place-based co-design process in three sites across South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia. The focus was on redesigning services to better reflect the needs and contexts of the communities they serve.
FPC was engaged to work alongside Australian Red Cross as part of a 'learnings project' during the co-design process. Red Cross was interested in gaining a nuanced understanding of the pros and cons of co-design, where it was more or less appropriate, and lessons for future scale-up across the organisation.
This project involved collecting data from a range of stakeholders (executives through to consumers), document review and reflective workshops. The result was a report that provided guidance for future service-focused co-design efforts. We also developed the Co-design Appropriateness Reflective Tool (CART) for ongoing use by the organisation.
Hepatitis Australia
HepLink is the national 'front door' to viral hepatitis treatment and care, ensuring everyone in Australia has a pathway to essential viral hepatitis support and services. It is nationally coordinated by Hepatitis Australia, with local on-the-ground delivery from each state and territory organisation. HepLink is funded by the Department of Health and Aged Care.
FPC was engaged to facilitate a design process with Hepatitis Australia and the eight State and Territory-based hepatitis organisations. Our process involved development of possible service models, and collaborative workshops to identify the features that worked for each jurisdiction.
Over two rounds of workshopping, we arrived at a new service model that included a centralised HepLink Navigator function, an on-ground HepLink role in each jurisdiction, and targeted internal grants that could address emerging issues. This new model satisfied all organisations involved, whilst also meeting directives set by the Department.
NSW Department of Primary Industries
The Marine Estate Management Strategy 2018–2028 defines the vision and management priorities of the NSW marine estate. To address a knowledge gap on the human dimensions of the marine estate, baseline data was collected in 2021 through an online survey of coastal residents, coastal visitors, and youth aged 14-17 years.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries engaged FPC to implement 'Wave 2' of the community wellbeing surveys to track long-term trends. Key objectives included collecting community data on the benefits of and threats to the marine estate, filling knowledge gaps on the social dimensions, and comparing results with baseline data to track changes over time.
FPC partnered with Dynata and Social Status to ensure sufficient data was collected to be representative of NSW target community groups. We used a collaborative approach to refine questionnaires, managed significant data cleaning and preparation, and conducted in-depth analysis comparing results for different community groups (including CALD and non-CALD) and changes since Wave 1.
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation funded a research project to explore and document the social and economic value of Victorian commercial fisheries and aquaculture operations. First Person Consulting were named researchers on the project, working under the lead of the University of Technology Sydney.
The research involved over 150 interviews across Victoria with industry and non-industry stakeholders, a 1,200-response community survey, and a range of workshops and presentations. Key themes explored included contributions to the economy, employment in regional areas, synergies with tourism, and the value of locally produced food.
This comprehensive mixed-methods study provided robust evidence of the sector's broader contributions beyond simple economic metrics, capturing the social fabric and community connections that make fisheries and aquaculture vital to regional Victoria.
