The Wellbeing Economy Learning Circle is a learning initiative by the Castlemaine Institute, designed to help community and leadership cohorts navigate the transition to a wellbeing economy. The project responds directly to two key barriers identified in the first year of our local wellbeing economy journey: the need for a clear and inclusive narrative about why a wellbeing economy matters, and addressing the chronic resourcing challenges faced by local innovations essential to community wellbeing. 

Over 2025, Learning Circle participants took part in a facilitated, trans-disciplinary learning program that explored wellbeing economy concepts, communication and storytelling, resourcing models, and local systems change. The Circle brought together lived-experience leaders, social innovators, anchor organisations, funders, and subject-matter experts to learn together and co-create knowledge around needs, resources, and ways forward, all while nurturing the leaders and their initiatives. 

The program is designed in a way that embodies wellbeing economy concepts and approaches – enabling rest, connection, partnership, learning, and crucially the inner work required to deliver outer change.

We look forward to sharing our co-created outputs from the project in the first half of 2026:

• Resourcing strategy for Mount Alexander Shire
• Communication guide and artefacts
• Learning Summary Report

The 2025 Pilot program was made possible by generous support from the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation (now the Greater Melbourne Foundation).