Centre of Impact for Thriving Childhoods
The Centre of Impact for Thriving Childhoods addresses early developmental vulnerabilities at scale, strengthening the early childhood workforce, and embedding integrated, place-based supports where children live and learn.
In doing so it is accelerating earlier intervention, improving service coordination, and driving better long-term outcomes for children, families and communities.
Located at the VU Research Building at the new Footscray Hospital, our Centre is at the heart of research and education deeply embedded in the community in Melbourne's west.
Anchored in the Living Lab model, the Centre enables educators and families to recognise and respond to children’s needs early – supporting challenges in attention, self-regulation, social connection, and learning as they emerge in everyday settings.
Thriving childhood
- Neurodiverse strengths
- Earlier support
- Resilient learners
Thriving educators
- Sustainable workforce
- Empowered practice
- Wellbeing first
Thriving communities & systems
- Connected families & inclusive cultures
- Systems change, policy impact & advocacy
- Scalability & national reach
About our director
The Centre is led by VU’s Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Professorial Research Fellow Professor Kim Cornish AM, who has held several leading positions in child development and mental health in Australia and abroad.
Partner with us
We welcome partners who are committed to improving the learning and development of our children and supporting their educators, families and communities.
Collaboration opportunities for the Centre include partnering on our work to:
Establish Melbourne’s west as a national demonstration site for early interventions at scale.
A real-world Living Lab embedded in diverse, high-growth communities - designed to test, refine, and showcase what works.
Co-design with government a scalable, system-level early intervention model.
Embedding early identification and support within everyday settings - reducing reliance on fragmented, referral-driven pathways.
Generate policy-ready evidence for national reform.
Delivering rapid, actionable insights, economic value, and a clear pathway to system-wide adoption.
