Expressions of interest open soon for participation in The Learning Collaborative (TLC), the ground-working workforce development initiative led by SHARC and Yale University, US.
TLC aims to create thriving workforces and service users and enhance service delivery by centring Lived and Living Experience (LLE) in mental health and drug and alcohol service delivery organisations.
The program is open to Victoria-based organisations interested in establishing an LLE Workforce (LLEW) or evolving their existing LLEW supports and effectiveness.
Participants in the 12-month program learn directly from LLEW leaders at Yale University, US, alongside state, national and international experts including SHARC, the lead agency for this program.
They also benefit from other participating organisations, said LLEAH Program Manager, Dr Jacqui Sundbery.
“Co-learning is a feature of the program, so each organisation gains exposure to different approaches, ways of working, and strategies for addressing workforce development challenges,” she said.
“Our graduates report leading transformational change across their organisations, winning executive support and embedding lived expertise at all levels.”
Leo Chen from St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, who participated in TLC in 2025, said the program offered a valuable opportunity to work with colleagues from a range of disciplines.
“We’ve got people in strategic development, we’ve got lived and living experience workforce, we’ve got academics, we’ve got clinicians.
“Being able to work together towards an exciting project and having some success in being able to bring this project to life – it speaks a lot to teamwork and solidarity.
That solidification of an idea and manifestation of working together was the best part of the program for me.”
TLC is part of SHARC’s Lived and Living Experience At Heart (LLEAH) initiative. For more information and to register your interest, subscribe to the LLEAH newsletter on the LLEAH page here.