Ted Smeaton talking about Inspiring Communities - http://www.businessinsider.net.au/up-close/ted-smeaton

About Inspiring Communities

Inspiring Communities was formed because of the belief that vibrant, strong communities and nations need a strong civil society; that sustainable communities are built from the inside out and need the passion, ideas, skills, assets, culture, and energy of everyone in the community to create inclusive, vibrant, enterprising communities.

These ideas have led to Ted Smeaton to establish Inspiring Communities to promote these important ideas with the necessary facilitation, creativity and skills. Inspiring Communities has a select number of innovative facilitators who collaborate on Inspiring Community Projects.

InspiringCommunities supports communities
to grow strong by:


  • Community asset mapping, visioning and planning
  • Community revitalisation
  • Community development
  • Mentoring, facilitation and educational opportunities using Asset Based Community Development, ABCD for Inclusion, and Appreciative Inquiry methodologies.
  • National Youth Policy Development
  • Social Enterprise Development
  • Community education / organising
  • Support to NGO’s, Communities, Local, State and National Government
  • Key note addresses
  • Conference workshops
  • Organisational development

Inspiring Communities is based on these
important assumptions:

  • All great change starts simply with a conversation
  • From little thing big things grow, most sustainable, powerful change starts small
  • Successful community interventions start with a question not an answer.
  • Communities themselves are the most successful architects of positive change 
  • Exploring stories of what works in community is a powerful gateway to creating a vibrant creative community 
  • Communities that grow strong first focus on what they have and build upon it
  • Every community boasts a unique combination of assets on which to build a future  
  • Communities grow strongest when they actively build sharing, caring, inclusive relationships
  • Building a great community is too big a job to do alone. Great communities utilize everybody's dreams, vision, resources, capacities and strengths
  • Communities are at their strongest and best when built on people's passions, aspirations, skills and abilities
  • Capture what people care about and you can change the world
We all need a sense of belonging, a place where we can contribute our talents and gifts towards a hopeful future
Communities and organisations we have supported 2008-10

      ·         Arabic Council  Australia

      ·         Australian Centre for Social Leadership

      ·         Burnie Moves Project

     ·         Charrette Foundation

     ·         Christian Blind Ministries

     ·         Department of Communities, Queensland

     ·         Department of Youth Affairs, Qatar

     ·         Interactionz ( New Zealand)

     ·         The International Association of Community Development

     ·         Family Action Centre

     ·         Family Advocacy

     ·         Fraser Coast Regional Council

    ·         Hobart City Council

    ·         International Association for Youth Policy Development

    ·         Kempsey City Council

    ·         Local Government Managers’ Association of South Australia 

    ·         Lake Macquarie City Council

    ·         Mission Australia

    ·         NSW Department of Education and Training

    ·         NSW Human Services Ageing Disability and Home Care 

    ·         Rockingham City Council

    ·         Sydney South West Area Health Service

    ·         Smith Family

    ·         San Remo Neighborhood Centre

   ·         The Municipal Association of Victoria

   ·         The Benevolent Society 

  ·         The Sunnyfield  Association

  ·         Uniting Care Australia

  ·         The Uniting Church of Australia

  ·         Uniting Care Community Options

  ·         University of Newcastle

  ·         Wyong Shire Council

  ·         Woollahra City Council