Reconciliation Australia welcomes Sprout Strategy Pty Ltd to the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) program with the formal endorsement of its inaugural Reflect RAP.
Sprout Strategy Pty Ltd joins a network of more than 3,000 corporate, government, and not-for-profit organisations that have made a formal commitment to reconciliation through the RAP program.
Since 2006, RAPs have provided a framework for organisations to leverage their structures and diverse spheres of influence to support the national reconciliation movement. The program’s potential for impact is greater than ever, with close to 3 million people now working or studying in an organisation with a RAP.
The four RAP types — Reflect, Innovate, Stretch and Elevate — allow RAP partners to continuously develop and strengthen reconciliation commitments in new ways. This Reflect RAP will lay the foundations, priming the workplace for future RAPs and reconciliation initiatives.
The RAP program’s strength is its framework of relationships, respect, and opportunities, allowing an organisation to strategically set its reconciliation commitments in line with its own business objectives, for the most effective outcomes.
These outcomes contribute towards the five dimensions of reconciliation: race relations; equality and equity; institutional integrity; unity; and historical acceptance.
It is critical to not only uphold all five dimensions of reconciliation, but also increase awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories, knowledge, and leadership across all sectors of Australian society.
This Reflect RAP enables Sprout Strategy Pty Ltd to deepen its understanding of its sphere of influence and the unique contribution it can make to lead progress across the five dimensions. Getting these first steps right will ensure the sustainability of future RAPs and reconciliation initiatives, and provide meaningful impact toward Australia’s reconciliation journey.
Congratulations Sprout Strategy Pty Ltd, welcome to the RAP program, and I look forward to following your reconciliation journey in the years to come.
Karen Mundine
Chief Executive Officer
Reconciliation Australia
Sprout Strategy is a leading Australian market research and management consulting firm that provides strategy, innovation, and transformation services to clients in various industries.
Our purpose is to combine our deep understanding of humans with behavioural science, human-centred design and neuroscience to reduce the gap between insights and action and advance the human experience. We leverage our deep understanding of humans to reduce the gap between insights and action with behavioural science and human-centred design underpinning our services in intelligence, human experience and strategy & activation. We uncover new insights and previously undiscovered solutions by applying new tools, experimentation and integrating learnings from the best experts across the globe.
We partner with our clients to build the future together and do this in the following way – helping businesses achieve their goals and overcome challenges through strategic thinking, data analysis, and creative problem-solving. We are future-focused and invest in innovative products and fresh thinking through our Planet 30 initiative, our newly designed implicit focus brand track Hoodi-eTM platform, and our QuallieTM online digital discussion platform. We also deliver a proprietary Mind and Mood annual report that keeps a pulse on how Aussies are feeling and conduct research into sustainable and environmental behaviours through our Conscious Consumerism work, which, most recently, identified a significant say-do gap across a range of sustainable behaviours include environmentalism, social responsibility, recycling, and supporting local.
Sprout Strategy is Australian owned company that serves the Australasian region and employs 10 people across the Eastern Seaboard of Australia. Sprout’s office is based on the land of the Turrbul people, in Brisbane, Queensland and we have satellite offices on the land of the Jinibara people in the Sunshine Coast, QLD and on Gadigal land, Sydney, NSW. Our team members are diverse in academic and professional backgrounds while all strongly connected by the desire to create and maintain a strong culture of honour and respect for our humanness and the unique qualities we all possess – all founded on our values of being Human, Curious, Spirited, Sage and trailblazers.
There are no Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team members currently employed at Sprout; however, we aim to change this, raise awareness, and create opportunities through initiatives such as this and future RAPs.
At Sprout, we recognise that all peoples are equal and should be treated as such. We always seek to place the human story at the heart of all our work as we strive to explore and understand the Australian landscape for our clients and ourselves. We understand that through our work in the insights industry, we have the unique opportunity to influence the thinking and understanding of reconciliation through our voice into issues and matters that count.
Creating and advocating for cultural respect and understanding is a natural pathway for Sprout as we tell the human story in our workplace. Always in a mode of learning, we look to include initiatives to educate our team, promote cultural awareness, and incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ perspectives into our business practices.
At Sprout, inclusivity and the celebration of mateship are integral to our values and practices. We believe that true equity of opportunity arises through education and understanding, which is why reconciliation is deeply personal to the Sprout team as some of us are close descendants of immigrants. The team feels strongly that everyone in our beautiful country must be afforded equal opportunities. It’s crucial that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians alike embrace and celebrate the rich history of our land while also acknowledging and addressing its long-term suppression. As an organisation, Sprout has the chance to be open about our commitment to inclusivity, working to reduce future trauma and ensuring that our workplace reflects and supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities. This includes recognising the land on which we operate, actively including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ voices in our research, and being mindful of how our work impacts these communities. Brands must keep Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ perspectives top of mind, ensuring their perspectives are not isolated or excluded, and acknowledging the significance of incorporating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences. By fostering an environment where everyone is treated equally and afforded the same opportunities, we honour First Nation peoples’ histories and work towards a more equitable future.
As we declare our commitment to closing the gap in regard to educational opportunities and employment within our capacity as a small business between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians, we look for ways and initiatives that Sprout can support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples businesses, employment and procurement within our market research space. The RAP is one small step towards equalising the disparities and injustices faced by local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It aligns with Sprout’s broader corporate social responsibility efforts and ethical practices. By developing our RAP, we demonstrate our commitment to social justice, diversity and inclusivity for all Australians.
Sprout developing a RAP to demonstrate our commitment towards a reconciled, just and equitable Australia, and one that recognises the strength and resilience of First Nations peoples. It is about deepening our understanding of the heritage and cultures of the land on which we live, building an inclusive community where everyone’s voice is heard and valued, where different perspectives are honoured, and a deeper appreciation of and connection to the land, traditions and histories of the place we all call home is a normal state of being. As a result, we aim to use our voice as a bespoke cultural insights agency to raise awareness and create an environment that allows for open discussion and fresh ideas that will create a future of inclusion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this land.
Our whole team will contribute to Sprout’s reconciliation journey. Our RAP Champion, Natasha Jarrah, Sprout’s Operations Manager, is a passionate advocate and is focused on ensuring we deliver our commitments.
Although we do not currently have any recurrent partnerships, Sprout is committed to fostering greater engagement with First Nations community groups through the implementation of this RAP.
We have identified internal activities and taken action on several fronts that contribute to reconciliation. These are:
Sprout Strategy acknowledges the First Custodians of the land on which we work and play, and pay our deepest respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We also acknowledge their connection to country, culture and community and acknowledge that their land was never ceded.
Managing Director
Panos is our Managing Director at Sprout Strategy, bringing extensive expertise in strategy and insights.
With a strong background in strategic marketing, brand strategy, customer experience, strategic pricing, communications, and new product development, he delivers data-driven solutions that empower businesses to make informed decisions.
Leveraging market research and advanced quantitative methodologies, Panos provides strategic advice across multiple sectors, including financial services, aviation, FMCG, professional services, and retail. He holds a Master’s degree in Analytics and a Master’s degree in Marketing from the University of Melbourne.
Senior Consultant – Quant and Advanced Analytics
Joining the team in 2019, Callum is a Senior Insights and Strategy Consultant at Sprout. The greatest satisfaction he gets from his job is helping clients understand where their potential for growth lies, particularly via customer understanding programs. Callum’s current focus is building out Sprout’s technology platforms.
He recognises that the industry is being reshaped by new digital trends and technologies such as AI. As well as automating and streamlining inefficient processes, they will enable the ability to produce rapid and crucial insights.
Before Sprout, he worked as a project manager at Dapresy, a dashboard visualisation company. His role at Dapresy gave him an excellent introduction to the market research industry in Australia, where he worked closely with many of the major agencies. In 2020, he completed his Bachelor of Commerce at Australian Catholic University.
When he is not at work, Callum likes to workout and surf.
Senior Consultant Qual | Planet 30 Lead
Lily started working part-time at Sprout in 2018 when she finished school. Since then she has moved into a full time role. She simply loves her job. She appreciates that she has so many great people around her to learn from and in whose footsteps she can follow.
When she was younger Lily would watch her mum (Elisa) run focus groups, She would travel with her and assist with these groups. From about 10 years old she knew she wanted to do the same thing!
In her spare time is a competitive cheerleader and is likely to be found training in a gym.
Account Director & Culture Strategist
Anna has recently joined Sprout Strategy as Head of Strategy and Insights, bringing considerable commercial expertise and a passion for creating narratives, based on insights, that drive meaningful change. She has considerable research and consumer insights experience in working for both agencies and clients, across a multiple and diverse range of industries and campaigns.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Business, majoring in marketing and IT management, Anna immediately began her career when she started working for a market research agency. She spent a number of years travelling around the country doing qualitative research for a range of companies including nappy manufacturers, lottery agencies, food companies and financial institutions.
She then switched to the client side when she joined the insights team at Suncorp. She observed that despite the great work being done on generating insights, much of it was not being applied to improving the business and opportunities were being lost. This realisation has fuelled her passion for connecting insights to strategy that, in turn, drive behavioural change.
She also became very focused on activating insights that improved the employee experience as well as the customer experience. She believes the industry, as a whole, needs to become better at activating insights and leveraging data to create compelling narratives that help elevate the customer and promote customer centricity.
In her spare time, Anna loves to cook. She finds that cooking is a great way to relax and overcome stress. Someday, Anna has a dream of moving to the country to raise animals on a farm as well as become self-sufficient and setup a bed and breakfast.
Operations Director
Natasha is the Operations Director at Sprout Strategy. It’s her job to ensure everything runs smoothly at Sprout. Her greatest satisfaction comes from enabling the Sprout team to deliver great work by helping to create an environment that is positive, nurturing and puts people before process.
She views her job, and business in general, as being about ‘uncomplicating’ things for people. It’s about making it easy to do business. Make it easy to connect with customers – understand what people really want and not just what they say they want.
Natasha has over twenty years experience in helping businesses succeed, starting at high school when she worked at her father’s business during the holidays. In 1990 she graduated from Queensland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Business. She completed her MBA at George Washington University in Washington DC.
Natasha believes in the importance of community and helping others to achieve their goals. She is committed to the values of honesty, integrity and loyalty, embracing a philosophy and world view that expresses compassion, understanding and pursuit of a higher truth.
In her spare time, she loves going to the beach and walking her dog Kuta.
CEO
Elisa is the CEO and founder of Sprout Strategy and FutureEQ. For the past 30 years she has been at the forefront of understanding human behaviour and using this knowledge to help her clients grow their business.
Being passionate about understanding the full human story, Elisa has devoted herself to studying the latest theories, techniques and strategies around behavioural research and science. Most recently she has completed study at Harvard Business School on how to use Behavioural Economics to drive behavioural change.
Her knowledge and expertise has aided some of the largest and most prestigious corporations in Australia including Telstra, Subway and Suncorp. She also works with smaller clients, helping them to develop a better understanding of their target audience and the motivations that drive their customer’s behaviour.
She is an exceptional and thoughtful business advisor. A constant source of inspiration for the people around her, she is always looking for ways to improve the results she delivers to her clients. Elisa is a member of the Research Society, AMSRO, AMI, AICD and ESOMAR. She is currently completing her Certificate of Management Excellence at Harvard Business School.
