About Borderlands
Borderlands Cooperative has been involved in community, social and international development, ecological sustainability, social justice and participatory approaches to research and evaluation since 1997. It was formally established as a not-for-profit cooperative with elected Directors, in July 1998. 

We are a place for meeting of like- and differently-minded people, also creating space to operate as a social- and ecological change network of mutually supportive organisations and groups.  We have also provided consultancy and research services to community organisations and local government bodies in the form of program and service evaluation, social impact research and needs analysis in Further, we also run the Institute for Community Development, which runs several community development courses throughout the year. In addition, we are in the early stages of developing a Cooperative Education and Resource Centre. In plain terms, we are several community organisations that share resources and work together in the areas of community development, community education, post-graduate education, community research, and international development. 

 

Borderlands provides:

• Administrative and intellectual support for projects and activities around core values;

• An on-site specialist library, including a collection of 16,000 books and more than 25 journals related to social and environmental change;councils.

• A forum for meetings and seminars;

• The opportunity to hold discussions and conversations about alternative ways that we can live and work together;

• A communication point to facilitate and obtain support for community action campaigns;

• Research and consultancy services to organisations (government and  non-government) in the form of  program and service evaluation,   social impact research, needs   analysis, organisational development, international and community development;

• An operational base for other small organisations (e.g. New Community journal, Permaculture   Melbourne, Action    Research and Issues Association).

• Since our arrival in Footscray, we have been hosting social work and community development students on placement and are involved in projects with several departments of the university and several local organisations and local 

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