Throughout our work so far we have explored whether the Doughnut Economics model is adaptable and appropriate to Melbourne’s unique character and our particular challenges and opportunities. The analysis of our context, the research and mapping work and our community engagement process has revealed that a local version of the Doughnut can serve as a powerful new compass for our city.

The local Melbourne Doughnut was co-created based on countless hours of workshops, forums, interviews and analysis in the first half of 2021. The final version was built by augmenting Kate Raworth’s original Doughnut to include a number of new elements, rename others and add both dynamism and texture. This augmentation is based on the contributions and conversations from the Regen Melbourne community. These changes are described below.

1. The original segment known as “Networks ” has here been expanded into three component parts: Art & Culture, Mobility and Information.

   • “Art & Culture” was referred to more often than perhaps any other dimension throughout our workshops and interviews. It became clear that the health of Melbourne and our citizens is in fact dependent on the health of our Art & Culture.

   • “Mobility ” was another dominant theme in our conversations. It spoke to the growing nature of our city and referred to the ability to move around in an accessible, equitable and sustainable way.

   • “Access to Information ” was discussed in a number of ways, both technical and social. This included equitable and affordable access to information channels like high-speed internet, but also included access to well-resourced public libraries. Another theme here was the importance of easy access to multilingual information.

2. Throughout our workshops it became clear that the precursor to reaching the social foundation for all citizens of Melbourne was a strong and vibrant community. Melbourne prides itself on the strength of our community and yet isolation and loneliness is also rising. As such, we have included “Community and Relationships” as an important description underpinning all aspects of our social foundation.

3. In a similar way, the achievement of Melbourne operating within our ecological ceiling can only be reached if we reconnect with nature in a fundamental way. Human beings are not separate from nature. We are a part of our ecology and our ecosystem. Hence we have included “Reconnecting to Nature” as a critical addition describing our ecological ceiling.

4. We had many conversations about the need for a Melbourne Doughnut to feel dynamic, organic and alive. This was often in the context of our need to heal and reconnect, both to country and to each other. Hence, we have included a dynamic element, holding our Doughnut together, entitled “Healing and Reconnecting to Country and Each Other ”

Our Melbourne Doughnut is organic and alive, and will continue to morph through the ongoing contributions from the Regen Melbourne community. This model has been adapted as the mission statement for Regen Melbourne: move our city into the safe and just space as defined by the Melbourne Doughnut.

The Doughnut Economics framework, developed by Kate Raworth and adopted by Regen Melbourne, provides a practical way for us to collectively identify the building blocks that matter for our wellbeing, and how we can pursue these outcomes in way that is attuned to the natural environment and ecosystem that we are privileged to inhabit.

LEONORA RISSE
National Chair, Women in Economics Network Australia