Q&A with YoBou principal Bryce Ives, who will lead upcoming regional scenario planning sessions
Bryce, you describe your mission as “transforming facilitation into action for impactful change”. Explain more about the work you do.
A lot of my work is about helping people make better decisions in complex situations.
Not just better conversations. Better judgement. Better clarity. Better follow-through.
To help people step out of the noise, name what is actually going on, and work through the choices in front of them.
What do you see as key issues for the Wimmera Southern Mallee and why?
The Wimmera Southern Mallee is facing a real convergence of change and opportunity.
The big issue is not simply growth or no growth. The real question is: what kind of future is the region prepared to shape, and what conditions need to be in place for that future to be viable?
What will happen at the scenario planning sessions?
These sessions will put regional leaders into credible, near-future scenarios that could plausibly affect the Wimmera Southern Mallee over the next three, five or ten years.
Participants will be asked to work through hard choices: what bites first, what has to move, who has authority, who carries risk, and what conditions would need to be true for the region to respond well.
The point is to rehearse better decision-making before the pressure is fully on.
How will these be different to other planning workshops?
This is not consultation. Scenario planning is different because it forces the conversation into choices and trade-offs.
People will not just be asked, “What do you want?” They will be asked, “What would you do if this happened? What would you prioritise? What would you delay? Who would need to act? What would make this possible?”
There is a lot of change happening in our region. How can these sessions make a difference?
When a region is under pressure, the risk is that everyone deals with their own piece of the puzzle separately.
These sessions are about building that shared map. They can help identify the constraints that are becoming unavoidable, the decisions that cannot be deferred, and the areas where the region needs stronger coordination.
What are you hoping people will get out of the day?
I hope people leave with sharper judgement. That means a clearer sense of what is changing, what is uncertain, what is within the region’s influence, and what needs to be acted on sooner rather than later.
The Wimmera Southern Mallee has a chance to be more deliberate about growth, transition and regional resilience. But that requires honest conversations about constraints, trade-offs, risk and authority.
That might sound uncomfortable, but it is where serious regional leadership begins.