Connecting Communities Living Lab

About the grant

Social isolation and loneliness are increasingly impacting the wellbeing of individuals and communities across the City of Casey. Factors such as rapid population growth, diverse demographics, and changing social landscapes contribute to feelings of disconnection and limited opportunities for meaningful social interaction.

The City of Casey is committed to fostering connected and inclusive communities, as detailed in our Council Plan 2025-29, Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2021-2025. Furthermore, this initiative aligns with the key themes of connection within the Long-Term Community Vision 2031 and addresses community concerns about social isolation highlighted in the Shape Your City 2024 engagement and the Challenges and Opportunities Report.

The Connecting Communities Living Lab complements other strategies including the Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, the Rainbow Action Plan, the Living and Ageing Well Action Plan, and the Disability Inclusion Action Plan by providing opportunities to enhance social connection within these specific community contexts.

Through the Connecting Communities Living Lab, Council aims to support projects that successfully develop, implement, and evaluate innovative solutions that foster social connection and reduce loneliness, generating measurable benefits for individuals, families, and communities and contributing to a more socially cohesive Casey.

Grants available

• Between $20,001 and $50,000 of financial contributions for big projects; 1:1 contribution (minimum 50% financial)
   
• Up to $20,000 of financial contributions for small projects; 1:1 contribution (in-kind only)
   
• In-kind support for any applicant

What is a Living Lab?

A Living Lab is a place-based approach to driving innovation through co-design with partners, community, and Council. It enables businesses, not-for-profit organisations, research institutions, and the community to collaborate on local challenges and test solutions that will address them. A Living Lab requires three components:

1. Problem: Complex problem that our community faces and is only likely to increase with our growth.
    
2. People: A range of people from business, community, not-for-profits, education, etc., that could address the problem.
    
3. Place: A physical location that can bring innovation to life and create a testbed for our community.  

The objective of the City of Casey Living Lab is to efficiently trial, evaluate and potentially scale up innovative solutions that support Council strategies to stimulate the local economy, address environmental challenges, and improve community outcomes through private-public partnerships and innovation processes. 

Responding to complex challenges requires new approaches and innovative concepts. The Living Lab aims to identify solutions that can meet the community's needs in new ways and evolve with community feedback and insights. 

There are a range of funding pathways for Living Labs. For the Connecting Communities Living Lab, a grant pathway is the most appropriate. 

Challenges

Solutions should address one or both of the following challenges:

• Community & Place: How might we design and activate inclusive public spaces and programs that foster connection, improve perceptions of safety, and nurture a sense of belonging?
   
• Community Empowerment: How might we empower community members and service providers to identify and support people experiencing social isolation?

Benefits are expected for the broad community, but projects may address a specific target group or area in the City of Casey. The types of organisations we are looking to partner with include established businesses, start-ups with more than one year of activity, not-for-profit organisations, social enterprises, co-operatives, research institutions, universities, and community groups.

Eligibility

Please read through the below sections to ensure the eligibility of your project

Who can apply

To apply for this grant, you must:

• be a business, not-for-profit organisation, or research institute
• be registered for at least two years (for start-ups)
• be a legal entity (e.g. an incorporated association, a co-operative, a company, or a trust)
• have a level of public liability insurance up to $20 million
• have a level of professional indemnity up to $5 million (where the organisation provides professional advice)
• have WorkCover insurance (where your organisation employs people)
• obtain a Working With Children Check if required
• submit a project plan with milestones, community benefits, trial methods, desired impact, and an itemised budget detailing how you will spend the funds
• submit your application and documentation online through our Smarty Grants system

Who cannot apply

You cannot apply for this grant if you are:  

• an individual not submitting as part of a registered organisation
• a start-up with less than two years of activity
• aligned with a political party or group
• a state or federal government agency, department, or public entity
• representing another Council
• a catchment management authority
• a non-registered business
• under an auspice arrangement

What will be funded or not funded

What will be funded

We can accept applications for the following:

• Pilot projects
• Events and community activations
• Project-related costs (including staffing costs directly related to the project)
• Digital and physical infrastructure and materials required for the trial
• Joint applications and partnerships
• Applied research projects

The applications must adhere to the following:

• Projects must be able to start within one month after the grant agreement sign-off
• Trial outcomes must be achieved within 12 to 14 months
• Projects must have tangible and measurable outcomes

What will not be funded

We cannot accept applications for the following:

• Projects that are unable to commence within one month from the formal approval by the City of Casey and contracts sign-off
• Projects that cannot be completed in a timeframe of 12 to 14 months, at agreed upon start date in early 2025
• Feasibility studies
• Cost to build
• Development of a new concept with low feasibility
• Multiple applications for different projects
• Projects already funded by Council
• Projects that take place outside of the City of Casey
• Ongoing operational costs such as utilities (electricity, gas and water), rent, insurance, or staff wages/ salaries not directly related to the trial
• Administrative costs
• Grants programs, prizes, awards, or donations
• Funding towards reimbursing retrospective projects or existing work unrelated to the application

Assessment Criteria

We are looking for projects that are:

• Innovative: solutions should deliver outcomes by testing cutting-edge products and services. 
   
• Data-led: data insights should be integrated into the solution to ensure measurable outcomes.
   
• Local: local providers will be favoured to maximise benefits for the local economy, although any Australian organisation is eligible to apply.
   
• Technology-enabled: when a particular technology is central to the delivery of a solution, the provider must ensure reliability, data privacy/ management, and share prior testing results.

Detailed criteria

Community Desirability 30%

• Applicants can operate within the City of Casey
• Strong alignment to City of Casey Council Plan and strategies
• Demonstration that the solution will meet community needs
• Clear explanation of how the solution will solve a problem, including outcomes and benefits
• Evidence that the solution will produce the expected result
• Project success metrics identified

Project Viability 25%

• Detailed and realistic budget within the bounds of the grant funding amount available
• Expenditure items listed are necessary and meet eligibility

Project Feasibility 30%

• Feasible and comprehensive project plan
• Ability to manage data, technology, and privacy in a secure way (if applicable)
• Risks identified and mitigation plan provided
• Evidence of experience in delivering the proposed project

Innovation Potential & Local Business Enhancement 15%

• Demonstration of an innovative solution
• Utilisation of data and insights
• Applicant is based in Casey (local providers will be favoured to maximise benefits for the local economy, although any Australian organisation is eligible to apply)

Assessment Process

1. Funding applications are checked for eligibility by Council officers.
    
2. Eligible applications will be assessed by the internal Living Lab judging panel of subject matter experts from a range of departments.
   
   Note: The full amount requested may not be approved; the assessment panel may recommend partial funding. Consideration will also be given to the total funding available and the distribution of funding across the priority areas.
    
3. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application in November 2025

How to apply

The online application process opens from 4 August 2025 on the Smarty Grants platform.

All applications must be submitted online using the Connecting Communities Living Lab Application Form.

Applications must include additional information as specified. 

Supporting documents and attachments must be in an electronic format and submitted as part of the online application process. The application must be submitted by the due date. No paper applications will be accepted, and applications outside of Smarty Grants will not be considered. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. 

Access Smarty Grants

Conditions of funding, reporting and acquital

What are the conditions of the funding?

All successful applicants must adhere to the conditions as outlined in the City of Casey’s Grants Policy (October 2017). The following conditions also apply:

• Successful applicants will be required to enter into a funding and service agreement with the City of Casey, which lists funding conditions.  This must be signed, and appropriate documentation provided before funds are issued. 

• Successful applicants will be required to provide a statement of expenditure or an audited statement at completion funding period. If Council’s grant funds are not spent, all remaining funds must be returned to Council. 

• Please note that a Living Lab Funding application will not necessarily result in funding or may result in only a portion of the amount requested being allocated. 

• Groups will need to satisfy acquittal requirements for previous Council grants and funding before funds will be released. 

• Depending on outcomes and benefits for Casey, some successful applicants may be invited to scale up their project with additional funding provided at the discretion of Council. 

• Council may also choose to take the learnings from the trial to inform future market activities at discretion of Council. 

Reporting and Acquittal

After you have completed your project, you must tell us how you spent the grant money and what the outcomes of the project were. This is known as an acquittal process. You must complete the acquittal process online within 60 days of completing the project.  The reporting format and agreed outputs will be provided upon successful appointment of the grant. 

If your application is successful

1. We will notify you by email or phone to organise a project kick-off meeting. 

2. You will need to read Council’s Grants Policy.

3. If you have any outstanding payments to Council, you will need to clear these before we can pay the grant.

Please note that some events and installations may require Council permits and approval. In this case approval must be obtained before grant funds can be paid.

Useful information

The following links contain information that may be useful in preparing a Living Lab funding application: 

• Connecting Communities Living Lab

• Connecting Communities Living Lab - Grant Guidelines

• Connecting Communities Living Lab - Challenge Brief

• Connecting Communities Living Lab - Desired Outcomes

• Connecting Communities Living Lab Casey Conversations

• City of Casey Council Plan 2025-2029

• City of Casey Long Term Community Vision 2031

• City of Casey Rainbow Action Plan 2024-2028

• City of Casey Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2025-2029

• City of Casey Living and Ageing Well Action Plan 2023-2025

• City of Casey Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan

• City of Casey Child, Youth and Family Plan 2023-2027

• City of Casey A Safe and Equal Casey 2022-2032

Application timeline