Every organisation eventually reaches a point where familiar ways of working can’t keep up with the pace of change. Funding shifts, community expectations evolve, and technology reshapes how impact is delivered. In the for‑purpose sector, these pressures often hit at once - demanding faster, more imaginative responses.

Innovation becomes essential not because it’s fashionable, but because the challenges you face are compounding and won’t stand still. Yet many leaders feel torn between maintaining core services and rethinking how those services must rapidly evolve. The tension between these competing demands is real, especially when teams are stretched and the stakes are high. It’s no surprise that only 32% of nonprofit leaders believe their organisation has the capacity to innovate.

In this 90-minute interactive session, Dr Gaia Grant, a researcher at the University of Sydney Business School on innovation leadership and one of our FPA Hub Chairs, provides guided activities and practical frameworks to examine your leadership mindset and uncover cultural patterns that shape your organisation’s response to innovation and change. The session covers how to navigate the tension of competing innovation demands in a for-purpose organisation by focusing on core values and through cultivating 'ambidexterity'. It also reveals how to build the specific adaptive capabilities needed to lead innovation with clarity and confidence through times of uncertainty and change.

You’ll walk away able to:

Apply the core principles of ambidextrous leadership in fast‑moving environments
Identify how to balance breakthrough innovation with operational continuity through using the Innovative Change Leader (iCLi) tool
Learn how to make responsible innovation decisions faster by applying the Purpose-Driven Innovation Radar (PDIR) model.
Build collaborative, agile and adaptable teams that can shift direction without losing cohesion
Create a personalised action plan to strengthen adaptive leadership capabilities and build organisational readiness

This session blends research-driven insight with practical tools, helping you develop the strategies to lead innovation by design - not by crisis.

The Sydney March keynote will be expertly facilitated by:

Dr Gaia Grant

Gaia Grant (PhD) is committed to advancing purpose‑driven leadership for transformational innovation and culture change. As co‑founder of Tirian Innovative Solutions and an associate at the University of Sydney Business School, she has spent over three decades working with global senior leaders and their teams to navigate complex challenges. Her clients span multinationals such as Colgate‑Palmolive (Asia & Latin America) and Google (USA), through to not‑for‑profits and government organisations such as the World Bank (Asia) and the Indonesian and Australian governments (on a joint project in Indonesia). Gaia is the author of several books including Purpose‑Driven Innovation Leadership, The Change‑Ready Capabilities Action Guide, and The Innovation Race: How to Change the Culture to Change the Game. Through her original research and practical tools, she equips organisations to build high‑impact, sustainable leadership capabilities

Connect with Gaia on Linkedin here.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: Thursday 5 March 2026
Time: 11.30am – 1pm
Location: Cliftons Event Space, Level 13 - 60 Margaret St, Sydney

PRICE:

FREE for FPA members (FPA Leadership HUB; Coaching; Associate Members only)
$74 for Guests/Non-members (including lunch - following the keynote)
$49 for Guests/Non-members (excluding lunch)

We look forward to you joining us.

Contact the host of SYDNEY FPA Keynote Series - MARCH 2026 - Agile Innovation by Design: Building a Resilient, Future-Ready Organisation

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