Vision & Mission
On 25 October 2018, in the company of partners, stakeholders, and friends in our community, WHISE launched its next strategic plan - view photos
The plan sits as one component of an architecture that will guide the work of WHISE over the next five years.This plan is the result of over 10 months of work, consulting with our partners, key stakeholders, researching the needs of our region and determining our role in securing a future for women in our region where they are safe, healthy and thriving.
- Our Social Impact framework which was put together by the great team at 180DC
- An environmental scan that will be updated every year to support our annual business planning cycle.
Download The WHISE Strategic Plan.
Social Impact
Measuring our impact of our community over the life of our strategic plan is important to understand the way that our actions can contribute to making a difference.
Partnering with 180 Degrees Consulting – a worldwide consulting service for non-profits, social enterprises and socially minded companies – a social impact framework was developed. It is based on the Theory of Change and links our inputs to our vision - for a region where women are safe, healthy and thriving.
For WHISE, measuring our impact is both an activity in transparency and accountability and of learning. We look forward to the ongoing opportunity to report on our progress and share the outcomes of our work in the community.
Our Values
| Value | What it means for WHISE |
|---|---|
| LEARNING | We have a thirst for knowledge and embrace opportunities to learn. We approach our work with curiosity, asking questions, listening and being interested in new possibilities. We see mistakes as opportunities for learning and seek to constantly increase our knowledge and skills to improve our practice. We welcome a diversity of opinion and embrace new perspectives as these offer opportunities for growth. |
| INNOVATION | We embrace, encourage and nurture creativity and innovation in the work that we do. We like to challenge assumptions and find new ways of doing things. Building on previous research and evidence, we take thoughtful risks to discover new ideas and develop innovative approaches. We are flexible, adaptive and responsive, acknowledging that we work in a changing environment. |
| COLLABORATION | Collaboration is fundamental to our work. We build, support and encourage collaboration within our organisation and across the region. We value and respect the skills, knowledge and experience of others and seek to create opportunities to share ideas, knowledge and expertise. We believe in the power of working together and collective action to create a more equitable world. |
| INTEGRITY | Authenticity, honesty, trustworthiness and reliability provide the foundation for all our work. We are committed to open communication and transparent decision-making. When faced with difficult decisions, we do the right thing to achieve our mission, even in the face of adversity. We act consistently according to our values, hold ourselves accountable to each other and our community and respect each other. |
| LEADERSHIP | We are committed to the mission of WHISE and ambitious for our future. We want to change the world for the better, to make a difference and to transform attitudes to ensure that all women in our region are safe, healthy and thriving. We are proudly feminist and want to inspire and influence when building support for change. With resourcefulness and energy, we work across the region to advance our goals, developed in partnership with our community. Our leadership is at all times congruent with our values as we work towards achieving our vision |
Intersectional Feminism
WHISE is a feminist organisation that practises intersectionality through all our work in prevention of violence against women, gender equity, mental wellbeing and sexual and reproductive health.
Learning from leaders in the field, an intersectional approach acknowledges the multiple forms of oppression that individuals experience, simultaneously at times. This includes gender, religion, sexuality, disability, nationality and racial identity. Intersectionality is an analysis of the power dynamics that impact people’s lives; defining place, experience and context. Intersectionality is not just about difference but about how specific differences come about and what purpose these differences serve as they inhabit everyday life.
Our intersectional and feminist approach is visible through our work in a variety of ways. WHISE is deeply committed to the long-term process of ensuring our feminism is intersectional. We cannot do this without hearing from our community, partners and stakeholders. WHISE recognises that this is a process of change that is ever changing, in response to a system of oppression.
WHISE seeks to better highlight some of these differences including indigeneity, religious belief and disability. We actively seek opportunities to hear how these differences have impacted on people's experiences of violence against women, and advocacy for sexual rights in disabled communities.
We understand through our work that ‘woman’ can never express the experience of every woman – the process of our primary prevention and health promotion work seeks to practice with the knowledge that a ‘woman’s’ experience is dependent on many facets of her lived experience.