How Leadership Onkaparinga is building leadership from the ground up

When local government invests in people - not as recipients of solutions, but as leaders of them - something remarkable happens. Confidence grows. Connections deepen. Communities begin to shape their own future.

That belief sits at the heart of Leadership Onkaparinga, the City of Onkaparinga Community Development Team’s long-running leadership development program, now recognised with the 2025 Excellence in Community Services and Development Award at the LG Professionals SA 24th Leadership Excellence Awards.

For more than 15 years, the program has quietly but powerfully reshaped what community leadership looks like - supporting everyday residents to step into civic life, tackle complex challenges, and lead meaningful change where they live.

A bold decision rooted in trust

Leadership Onkaparinga was born in 2009 from a deliberate civic choice: to respond to negative narratives about the region not with spin, but with people.

Rather than telling the community what it should be, council chose to invest in local leadership capacity - empowering residents to shape their own story.

From the beginning, the program was designed to be accessible, inclusive and deeply human. Offered free of charge, it draws on community development principles that prioritise empowerment, human rights, inclusion, self-determination and collective action.

What makes it truly distinctive is the depth of learning on offer. Leadership Onkaparinga brings together sophisticated leadership frameworks - like adaptive leadership, systems thinking and participatory governance - often reserved for elite corporate settings, and places them firmly in a community context.

Participants don’t just learn about leadership. They practise it - grounded in the realities of their region and informed by national and international perspectives through partnerships with universities and expert facilitators.

From uncertainty to agency

Ask the team what’s been most rewarding, and the answer comes quickly: watching people grow.

Time and again, participants arrive unsure of their place in leadership - only to leave with confidence, agency and a stronger sense of connection to their community.

One standout moment came when a 2024 participant secured a scholarship to Harvard University, later returning to co-facilitate learning in the 2025 program - cascading global insight straight back into the local community.

But leadership doesn’t always look like international study. It looks like action.

Graduates have gone on to launch community enterprises, establish women’s networks, create playgroups and multicultural community groups, build digital health apps, and lead environmental and social initiatives. Many have strengthened existing businesses, returned to study, or taken on mentoring roles within the program itself.

Perhaps most powerfully, participants who once felt disconnected from civic processes have confidently undertaken deputations, spoken at citizenship ceremonies, and engaged directly in democratic decision-making.

In one particularly significant outcome, a First Nations woman gained the confidence through the program to nominate for local government elections - an unmistakable sign of leadership, representation and self-determination in action.

Leadership that stays local

What sets Leadership Onkaparinga apart is that leadership doesn’t end with graduation - it stays embedded in the community.

Alumni regularly return as mentors, co-facilitators and advisors, shaping future cohorts and strengthening a self-sustaining, community-led leadership network.

In 2025, council took this even further by inviting program alumni to sit on assessment panels for the Connected & Sustainable stream of the Community Grants Program - bringing participatory budgeting to life and placing informed citizens at the centre of public decision-making.

It’s a powerful example of leadership not just being taught, but trusted.

A collective effort, sustained over time

The program’s success is the result of deep collaboration - across council teams, First Nations partners, academic collaborators, facilitators and community leadership networks.

Support has come from every level of the organisation, from executive leadership and elected members to operational teams across strategy, sustainability, economic development, engagement, marketing and community capacity.

Key contributors like Program Coordinator Joanna Giannes and Dr Sharon Zivkovic have shaped a curriculum grounded in evidence, research and lived experience - ensuring learning translates into real-world impact.

Together, these partnerships demonstrate what’s possible when local government commits to long-term, relational community development.

Why this award matters

Winning the Excellence in Community Services and Development Award affirms the value of sustained investment in people and learning.

It recognises local government’s role as a civic educator - helping communities navigate complexity, understand democracy, and respond to interconnected challenges like climate change, misinformation and social cohesion.

Most importantly, it celebrates a simple but powerful idea: that strong communities are built when people are trusted to lead.

Looking ahead

Leadership Onkaparinga continues to evolve, with future iterations placing even greater focus on democracy, social cohesion and navigating “wicked problems” as complex, interconnected systems.

As challenges grow more complex, the program’s purpose remains clear - building informed, connected communities who understand how to participate, collaborate and shape shared solutions.

For anyone considering nominating next year, the team’s advice is heartfelt: tell the real story. Celebrate the human impacts, the relationships, and the learning along the way.

Because when leadership is grown from within, its impact lasts far beyond any one program - and continues to ripple through the community for years to come.

Thank you to our partner Hostplus for sponsoring the Excellence in Community Services and Development Award.

GIF: Features a variety of images from the Leadership Onkaparinga program, and those representing the program at the LG Professionals SA Leadership Excellence Awards Gala Dinner.