When Carers Queensland – the peak body supporting unpaid carers across the state – needed to turn a strong three-year strategic direction into a workable plan for delivery, they turned to CoLab Strategy. Across an intensive two-day facilitation with the executive team, we clarified the organisation’s fundamental remit in the context of rapid growth and future uncertainty, set strategic objectives and success metrics, described the impact the organisation was seeking and its theory of change, and defined a clear value proposition for each key stakeholder group including carers, partner organisations and government.
“Working with CoLab Strategy provided us with a strong structure and a clear framework that we can continue to replicate. The process was ambitious in scope, but we were able to achieve a significant amount in a relatively short time, which was a testament to how well the sessions were facilitated.”
— Deborah Dixon, General Manager, Navigation – Carers Queensland
The Ask
Carers Queensland plays a critical role in supporting unpaid carers across Queensland, delivering services, advocacy and programs that respond to complex and evolving community needs. The organisation had grown exponentially in recent years but faced an uncertain future, needing to plan for multiple possible scenarios.
With a three-year strategic direction already in place, the organisation had a strong sense of where it wanted to focus. The challenge was moving from strategy to execution. The executive team needed a pragmatic and energising process to translate its strategy on a page into a prioritised and realistic business plan – one that would focus investment, align effort across the organisation, maximise value creation and ensure shared accountability for delivery.
The Challenge: Balancing Growth, Impact and Sustainability
Carers Queensland was navigating several interconnected challenges:
- clarifying its value proposition and remit as a peak organisation in a crowded and evolving sector
- translating its three-year strategic plan into operational priorities in the context of future uncertainty and multiple scenarios
- resolving uncertainty around sequencing, ownership and dependencies across initiatives
- establishing clear measures of success to track progress and demonstrate impact
- building executive alignment and shared accountability for delivery
The organisation needed a business plan that was comprehensive, practical, owned and usable.
Our Approach: Insights-Led, Executive-Owned Planning
CoLab Strategy worked closely with the Carers Queensland executive team using a structured, co-design approach underpinned by design thinking techniques – centering the user experience at every stage.
“The CoLab Strategy team did an excellent job of keeping us on track while also creating space for honest and sometimes challenging conversations. These discussions were navigated thoughtfully, with a coaching approach that helped the group work through issues constructively. We particularly appreciated the ability to challenge our thinking in a non-confrontational way.”
— Deborah Dixon, General Manager, Navigation – Carers Queensland
1) Due Diligence and Insights
We began by understanding Carers Queensland’s strategic and operational context, key challenges and opportunities. Insights from document reviews and one-on-one interviews with executive team members were synthesised into a concise, evidence-based insights pack – grounding the planning process in a shared understanding of challenges and opportunities.
2) Co-Designed Workshop Process
Using these insights, we designed and facilitated a planning process with the executive team, culminating in a two-day off-site workshop. During the sessions, the team clarified its strategic priorities, deepened its understanding of customer needs and value propositions, aligned on objectives and defined clear actions, accountabilities and timelines to drive execution.
“CoLab Strategy demonstrated a strong ability to draw out key ideas and surface underlying issues, including the ‘elephants in the room’, in a way that felt authentic and productive. The approach really suited our style and aligned well with what we were trying to achieve, and your experience in the NFP sector was evident throughout.”
— Deborah Dixon, General Manager, Navigation – Carers Queensland
What we delivered
- An evidence-based insights report distilling risks and opportunities gathered through desktop review and executive interviews
- A two-day off-site business planning workshop facilitation with the executive team
- A Balanced Scorecard and implementation roadmap to guide delivery over the next three years
- An outcomes framework articulating short-, medium- and long-term outcomes for key stakeholders
- A value proposition for each customer segment, supported by competitive perceptual mapping
- Exploration of sustainable growth avenues from market penetration to service diversification, with prioritised actions to support decision-making
The Outcome: A Clear Pathway to Delivery
As a result of the engagement, Carers Queensland achieved:
- a clearer understanding of its core customers, their needs and how the organisation can create value that matters
- a shared, practical understanding of how its strategic pillars translate into action
- a clear, integrated business plan to guide decision-making and resource allocation
- defined priorities, ownership and milestones to support execution
- clear measures of success to track progress and demonstrate impact
- increased executive team confidence and alignment around delivery
Why This Work Matters
Unpaid carers are one of Australia’s most essential and most under-recognised workforces. Every day, they provide practical help, personal care, advocacy, transport, emotional support and coordination that keeps people with disability, chronic illness, mental ill-health and ageing-related needs safe and connected. Caring often comes with significant personal and financial cost, and many carers navigate fragmented systems while juggling complex responsibilities alongside paid work, parenting and their own health needs.
Supporting carers is both the right thing to do and a practical investment in a more sustainable care system. Carers Queensland’s ability to deliver on this mission depends on executing strategy well – making deliberate choices, aligning resources and delivering value consistently at scale so carers receive timely, effective support.
Why This Matters for Organisations Like Yours
Many not-for-profit organisations invest significant effort in developing strategy but struggle to bridge the gap between strategic intent and day-to-day execution. This case study demonstrates how a structured, executive-led business planning process can translate strategy into clear priorities, accountability and action – enabling organisations to deliver impact and growth with confidence.
If you are interested in how CoLab Strategy supports not-for-profit and for-purpose organisations, visit our Strategic Planning and Not-for-Profit service pages to learn more about our approach.
How Can CoLab Strategy Help?
If your organisation has a strategy in place and needs to move confidently from direction to delivery, CoLab Strategy can help. Book a free 30-minute strategy session to explore your next chapter.
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Reach out to CoLab Strategy today to discuss how we can help you grow your organisation for greater impact.