On 1 November 2018 the Centre’s Head of Policy & Strategy, Gabriela Christian-Hare, participated in a panel discussion on measuring impact and story-telling at the Australian Pro Bono & Skilled Volunteering Summit at Westpac in Sydney. The Summit was a forum to discuss best practice, trends and share case studies across corporate ‘pro bono’, the term being used in the broad sense, ‘for the public good’, and not limited to legal pro bono.

Fellow panellists were Kerry O’Shaughnessey, Associate Director, Inclusion and Engagement (Corporate Responsibility) at National Australia Bank, and Taimur Siddiqi, Managing Director, The Incus Group. The panel was facilitated by Anton Hermann, Director, Pro bono & Community Investment, Minter Ellison. Together they shared their experiences and advice on the reasons for, best practices in, and challenges associated with, measuring impact and discussed the importance of story-telling, particularly as a tool for staff engagement in pro bono.

The Summit was sponsored by the Macquarie Group Foundation, Westpac and Resonate Consulting and brought together corporates, law firms, intermediaries, and pro bono experts to engage, share innovative techniques and best practices to scale pro bono.

Representatives from Westpac, Macquarie, CBA, NAB, Ashurst, Atlassian, and other organisations shared their experiences in building a ‘business case’ for pro bono and the role of pro bono in corporate leadership programs and talent development. Benojo, The Good Company, Vollie, and Australian Business Volunteers discussed the role of intermediaries. Case studies on building and sustaining impactful non-profit partnerships were also shared.