For decades, Australians have called for a National Conversation to ask, “What kind of Australia do we want?” From the early work on citizenship and progress in the 1990s, to the Australian National Development Index and the Centre for Policy Development’s Measuring What Matters, one truth has remained: we know we need to plan our future together.

So why haven’t we done it yet?

The answer isn’t a lack of ideas, it’s that our efforts have been fragmented. Great work has happened, but in isolation or not gathered the support it needed to succeed. Each initiative lit a spark, but no single effort could weave them together into a shared national fabric.

That’s where Foundations for Tomorrow comes in. We’re asking the question:

Why can’t we do this together?

We believe collaboration is the key to unlocking the kind of Australia we all want.

Our approach is simple but ambitious:

• Build with, not over. We’re activating Australia’s existing civic infrastructure, not replacing it.

• Connect the dots. From the wellbeing movement to local dialogues and Future Generations Policy, we’re uniting what already works under a shared inquiry framework.

• Leave a legacy. Every collaboration should leave something behind, digital tools, data, skills, and trust that strengthen democracy long after the project ends.

By linking trusted networks, community leaders, youth voices, researchers, and political champions, we’re building the civic architecture for the long term: a process that is inclusive, transparent, and deeply Australian.

We’re shaking things up, not for the sake of disruption, but because we know we can’t build the future we want by doing things the same old way.

The For Our Future campaign is driven by Foundations for Tomorrow with creative and strategic guidance from General Strategic.