GREEN CONNECT case study

This is one of four case study reports prepared as part of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage project: Improving Health Equity for Young People? The Role of Social Enterprise (LP160101793). Green Connect Illawarra (Green Connect) is a social enterprise based in the southern region of Wollongong, NSW and is a participating case organisation in the wider research. This report draws on data collected between March and July 2019, and therefore should be understood as providing a ‘snapshot’ in time. This case study report examines the role of social enterprise, Green Connect, in producing health equity and wellbeing outcomes for young people and their communities. Forming part of a wider comparative case study project, the research focuses particularly on the organisational context and features of Green Connect that produce these outcomes, with a particular emphasis on whether and how Green Connect fosters the social conditions – referred to as the social determinants of health – through which health equities are realised. The case study involved interviews with key informants, participant observation at Green Connect, and secondary analysis of organisational and media materials.