Centre for Muslim Wellbeing Business Case
The Centre for Muslim Wellbeing (CMW) was established in 2019 in response to a growing concern about the number of Muslims in Australia only reaching out for mental health support when they reach crisis-point, and there being a lack of access to services that reflect the cultural and spiritual elements of a Muslim’s wellbeing. These issues are aggravated by the stigma embedded within many communities about speaking openly about mental wellbeing and the lack of culturally appropriate services.
To that end, CMW was set-up to provide a community-centred approach to improving the mental health and wellbeing outcomes of Muslims across Australia, working in partnership with key community leaders and service providers to change the way communities talk about mental health and deliver relevant support.
CMW received initial start-up funding from the Victorian Government that allowed them to pilot and refine their service delivery model.
The project
Support the Centre for Muslim Wellbeing to develop a business case they could use to attract ongoing funding.
The objective
The business case was designed to articulate the value to government, community and individuals of providing Australia’s Muslim communities with access to culturally and spiritually appropriate mental health and wellbeing services. We also sought to define a service delivery model for the Centre to allow them to achieve the goal of improved mental wellbeing amongst Muslim communities.
The role we played
Working closely with the newly established Board and Executive Officer, SVA Consulting helped develop a compelling narrative for the Centre for Muslim Wellbeing through designing and developing the following components:
- A quantification of the severity of the issue in Australia, the current size of the gap in the market and the reasons why there is a need for a new approach to support the mental wellbeing of Muslim communities in Australia
- A clear Theory of Change that articulated the outcomes the Centre is setting out to achieve, the intended beneficiaries, and the ways in which these outcomes are interrelated and complementary
- A clear articulation of the service delivery model required to achieve these outcomes, the important role different partners play in the success of the model and a set of customer journeys to test its relevance to different groups
- A high-level analysis of the potential economic benefits for government that could result from this proposed new approach to supporting mental wellbeing
The final business case brought together all these components to put forward a compelling narrative that explains why the support and services provided through the Centre for Muslim Wellbeing are important to the health and wellbeing of Australia’s growing Muslim communities – and how state government, local councils and communities can all benefit from its establishment and growth.
“We are really indebted to SVA for assisting us to put together the business case for CMW. Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic the approach and care employed by the team really gave us some clear insights, goals and a path forward to make our vision a reality”
Ayman Islam
Executive Officer, Centre for Muslim Wellbeing
Project impact
The process of pulling together all the key components of the final deliverable acted as a catalyst for the Board to face into important strategic decisions around the direction and focus of the Centre. The business case has given the Centre a polished and succinct document to share with potential funders and partners as they work to attract ongoing funding.
