Australian trio join ‘Stronger Together’ forum in Denmark

Major Erica Jones (left), Daryl Crowden and Aletia Dundas were the Australian representatives at the annual Supporting Offices Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark, last month.

BY SIMONE WORTHING International Editor

Three Australian representatives played an active role at the recent Salvation Army Supporting Offices Forum (SOF) in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 1-4 June.

Daryl Crowden (General Manager Emergency, Aid and Development), as the current Chair of the SOF, led this year’s gathering. Aletia Dundas (Program Manager - Development) and Major Erica Jones (Program Coordinator - Mission Support, SAID), were also among the 55 delegates – all working in development and emergency response – attending from around the world.

The Supporting Offices Forum annual gathering brings together representatives from 10 Salvation Army Support Offices around the world, alongside International Headquarters, to discuss global development trends and priorities, strengthen partnerships, share learning, and improve how teams work together in support of territories and communities around the world.

(From left) Fifty-five delegates from around the world attended the forum; Ausralia’s Daryl Crowden led this year’s gathering; The Salvation Army headquarters in Copenhagen.

Stronger together

This year’s forum in Copenhagen focused on the theme ‘Stronger Together: Aligning Strategy, Resources and Partnerships for Global Impact’.

“The agenda explored topics including emergency response, international development strategy, impact measurement, fundraising, resource mobilisation, advocacy, adaptive programming, collaboration and the future direction of support offices globally,” explained Erica.

“I attended as Australia's representative for Mission Support within SAID (Salvation Army International Development). My role was to contribute to discussions around    international development partnerships, project support, funding models, collaboration between support offices, and strengthening how we support territories internationally.

“The forum also provided an opportunity to learn from other support offices, share Australia’s experiences, build relationships, and identify opportunities for greater collaboration across the global Salvation Army network.”

Partnership approach

Aletia attended the conference in her capacity as Program Manager – Development, representing the project coordinators and partnerships coordinator.

“It was really helpful for me to meet in person several of the contacts from other territories and IHQ who I’d engaged with for several of the projects we support,” she explained.

“The sessions on the strategy for the SOF and the changing operating context were also valuable for understanding the intention of the gathering and how we face global challenges together.

“I appreciated hearing from those involved in communities of practice in areas such as livelihoods, harmonised MOU [Memorandum of Understanding], climate change adaptation and resilience, and WASH [water, sanitation, hygiene].

“Having just come from a SAID team meeting in Sydney the week before where we’d heard feedback from both implementing territories and support offices on our partnership approach, it was timely for me to learn how other support offices operate and begin to consider ways to improve our practice in future.”

Lessons brought home

Erica said that there were several informal ‘takeaways’ from the SOF that she has brought back with her to Australia, including “new relationship built and plenty of opportunities”.

Erica also outlined the four areas that she found held the greatest significance for her:

1. Stronger collaboration produces stronger outcomes

One of the strongest messages throughout the week was that no single support office has all the answers. The greatest impact is achieved when support offices, territories and International Headquarters collaborate, share resources and learn from one another.

2. Locally led development matters

Many discussions reinforced the importance of moving beyond simply funding projects and towards empowering local leadership, local decision-making and local ownership. 

3. Impact matters as much as activity

There was a growing emphasis on measurement, learning and understanding the real difference our work makes, not simply reporting on activities completed. This aligns strongly with Australia's increasing focus on outcomes reporting and impact measurement.

4. The world is becoming more complex

Conversations around Ukraine, emergency response, climate resilience, adaptive programming and fundraising highlighted that development work is increasingly complex and interconnected. Future success will require flexibility, innovation and stronger partnerships.

Australian applications

 “For me, personally, applying what I have learned back here in Australia, translates to:

Strengthening partnerships: We will continue building stronger relationships with implementing territories, ensuring support is collaborative rather than transactional.

Improving impact measurement: There is an opportunity to strengthen how we measure and communicate outcomes, helping us better understand and demonstrate the difference Australian supporters are making globally. This is especially true for the Mission Portfolio and my work going forward. 

Enhancing collaboration: The conference highlighted opportunities for Australia to work more closely with other support offices by sharing tools, learning and resources rather than creating everything independently.

Future-focused Mission Support: As Australia’s Mission Support portfolio continues to mature, there is an opportunity to move beyond project administration and increasingly contribute to learning, strategy, partnership development and global impact.

“The conference reminded me that, while we often focus on strategies, systems and projects, the real strength of the global Salvation Army lies in its people and relationships,” Erica said.

“Some of the most important learning happened in the spaces between the agenda items, where stories, challenges and hopes were shared across cultures and contexts. That may ultimately be one of the most valuable outcomes of the week.” 

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Australia’s Daryl Crowden leading a session.

Reflection: Daryl Crowden

One session focused on defining our vision for Supporting Offices (SOF) – what do we want to be known for and do by 2030. Participants highlighted a future in which offices across multiple countries collaborate to support international development initiatives.

By 2030, we aim to operate as a coordinated global network of Supporting Offices, working more strategically to access diversified funding sources, including jointly engaging major international foundations.

We will strengthen support for partner countries in areas such as operations, logistics, and management, enabling greater sustainability and independence.

Our funding decisions will be guided by deliberate coordination, informed by mapping of restricted and unrestricted funding availability, as well as contextual vulnerability.

Projects will incorporate local fundraising and income-generating components and be grounded in community-based approaches.

We will also engage in both global and local advocacy with a unified and intentional voice.

We plugged the key points of this (unofficial and very draft) vision into an AI engine and asked it to write a poem. While it is a bit of fun, the following beautifully outlines (what I believe is) the SOF’s passion and determination to move beyond a ‘colonial donor’ – ‘implementer receiver’ relationship to a trusted and true collaborative partnership framed by and built on a foundation of local capacity and need.

One Voice, One World a vision for 2030

Across borders, voices gathered,

Imagining what could be;

A network not divided by distance,

But united in purpose and possibility.

Supporting Offices, far yet close,

Reaching outward, hand in hand,

Linking nations, bridging gaps,

Serving needs across the land.

By 2030, we will stand

Not as fragments, but as one –

Coordinated, intentional,

Our shared work never done.

Together seeking broader paths,

Diversifying how we give,

Engaging global partners’ strength

So communities may thrive and live.

Foundations vast, resources shared,

Accessed through collective voice,

Strategic steps, aligned in action,

Guided not by chance, but choice.

In partner lands, we walk beside,

Strengthening systems day by day;

Operations, leadership,

Building futures that can stay.

Sustainability, independence,

Not distant hopes, but present aims,

As local hands shape lasting change,

And ownership firmly claims.

With careful maps of need and means,

Of vulnerability, of supply,

We guide our funds with purpose clear,

Ensuring none are left behind.

Projects rooted in the soil,

From community voices they arise,

With livelihoods woven within,

So resilience multiplies.

And when we speak – both near and far –

Our message carries strong and true:

A unified, intentional voice,

Advocating what is due.

This is the future we envision,

A path we walk, a role we own;

A global network, deeply local,

Together stronger, never alone.

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