Where to Start? Participatory Systems Mapping for Place-Based Service Integration in the City of Casey

Place-based approaches have gained significant attention as a means of addressing en-trenched disadvantage through collaborative, locally-responsive service delivery, yet implementation has yielded mixed results and the systemic factors that facilitate or im-pede inter-organisational collaboration remain inadequately understood. This study ap-plied participatory systems mapping as part of a systemic inquiry to identify leverage points for place-based integrated service delivery in the City of Casey, an out-er-metropolitan municipality in Melbourne, Australia. Twenty-one representatives from the Casey Futures Partnership engaged in group model building workshops, co-producing a causal loop diagram containing 33 factors and 107 directional connec-tions. The resulting map was analysed using a blended analytical approach combining network metrics with the Action Scales Model. Funding availability and criteria emerged as the most central factor within the system, while belief-level factors, including territorial behaviour and resource and collaboration mindset, were found to be substantially shaped by upstream structural conditions. Factors combining network influence with deeper system positioning and amenability to local action included awareness of community needs and priorities, trust and willingness to collaborate from funders, in-ter-organisational communication, and advocacy effectiveness. The findings support multi-level place-based approaches that address underlying beliefs and structural condi-tions alongside operational improvements.