Welcome to the Parlour Collective!
It is great to see you here. We look forward to working together to improve equity and build community.
What is the Parlour Collective?
The Parlour Collective is Parlour’s new supporter program. It creates funding security for our long-term future, while providing further opportunity for action, research, mutual support and camaraderie.
The Collective reinforces our capacity to bring many voices together, to advocate for all and to catalyse further positive change. It facilitates the research and resources needed to shape the future of the built environment professions.
The Collective supports practices and organisations to increase and share knowledge, and to demonstrate their values – to their staff, clients and peers.
The Collective helps people to shape their professional lives and to share experiences and support others.
Why now?
Two reasons. Firstly, Parlour turns 11 this year! We have achieved an enormous amount but there is still a lot to do. The Collective will help accelerate this work. Secondly, the world of work is at a crossroads. At Parlour we are striving to shape the workplaces and professions of the future. The Parlour Collective helps us to amplify and extend our collective voice and impact.
Through the turmoil of the pandemic, Parlour worked hard to create spaces of mutual support and discussion. We help navigate challenging times and reshape the world into which we are now emerging.
We have had a big impact, and created a much-loved program. This was possible thanks to the significant contribution made by our longstanding, much-appreciated Parlour Partners.
To maintain and develop this program of activity we need an additional long-term funding stream.
The Parlour Collective replaces the Parlour Friends donation system, but it is about much more than money. The Collective will strengthen the vibrant community that has gathered around Parlour Inc over the last decade. It will mean new ways to get involved and new initiatives. Ultimately, the Collective is about expanding ways to work together to make the professions we want and need.
Who can join?
Everyone!
The Parlour Collective is open to all: individuals, practices and organisations large and small; students, recent graduates, established practitioners, academics, other built environment professionals, and everyone else who is interested.
The larger and more diverse the Collective, the more we can achieve.
What will Parlour do with the funds raised?
The funds raised through the Parlour Collective will support a range of activities and programs, existing and new, in addition to facilitating the Collective itself.
At a base level, funds will ensure the continuation of the existing event and editorial programs and suite of projects and initiatives, which have expanded substantially as we responded to the pandemic.
Behind the scenes, we will develop our systems, processes and expand the team, thereby increasing Parlour’s capacity. We will complete the upgrade of the website and we hope to establish a writers fund.
We also have many new projects and initiatives planned (see below for details).
The more people, practices and organisations join, the more can be achieved – so sign up now!
What are the plans for the future?
As the Parlour Collective grows, it will provide resources to develop a range of new initiatives that will create additional benefits for the Collective and the Parlour community at large.
We will proceed with these as and when adequate funds are raised.
We look forward to working with the Collective on developing and delivering the following.
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One of the most frequent requests here at Parlour is for mentoring. Developing and running effective mentoring or sponsorship programs requires a significant investment of time and resources.
The Collective presents the opportunity to set these up. Access to the programs will become one of the benefits of joining.
The latest Parlour Census Report was released in October 2023. This provides fundamental knowledge about participation and tracks progress and is a core foundation for ongoing advocacy. The Collective will help fund ongoing research, analysis and action.
Updating and revising the highly successful Parlour Guides to Equitable Practice is underway. This includes reviewing the existing and adding new guides to essential topics, such as harassment.
Collective supporters will have the opportunity to participate in the review and revision.
Policies, frameworks and implementation guides that support and enhance equity are very dear to Parlour’s heart. Over the years, many practices have approached us seeking support in the area.
The Collective is an opportunity to harness the knowledge and experience of a diverse group to develop model policies that will benefit all.
The Parlour Collective Charter will be developed in collaboration with the Collective participants. This will provide a useful framework for improving equity within practices and will help demonstrate commitments to gender equity in relation to social procurement requirements. (Note: as per the fine print, joining the Collective does not confer Parlour Inc’s endorsement.)
Parlour’s work has a strong evidence base and we have assembled significant research on equity-related matters. We have proven ourselves as advocates, but limited resources have constrained our ability to submit to government reviews and policy initiatives.
The Collective is an opportunity to work on this together, to harness the expertise of a wide group, and make sure that the voices of the built environment professions are heard.
Another long-planned initiative, the ‘Agony Aunt’ program will respond to questions posed by the Parlour community. A group of ‘aunties’ (of all genders) will combine lived experience and expert knowledge to provide insightful answers that will assist many.
The Parlour community has extraordinary knowledge and experience, and we are keen to develop additional platforms to develop and share this. The Roundtables will be self-organised working groups on specific topics, led by practices or individuals within the Collective. Parlour will establish the broad platform and provide strategic support.
Parlour has excellent connections to a wide range of other organisations, both in Australia and internationally. Establishing the Collective is an opportunity to extend these relationships through Memoranda of Understanding, which may include reciprocal benefits.
There is great potential to use the Parlour Collective to facilitate access to workshops and programs that are not usually available to individuals.
For further information, check out the Parlour Collective Benefits, FAQ and Fine Print. Or just sign up!
All the Parlour Collective has to offer
What are the benefits?
Being part of the Parlour Collective brings a swathe of opportunities. Practices, individuals and organisations – all have plenty to gain and much to give through the Collective.
Benefits and opportunities (for yourself and others) will increase over time as we develop new programs and projects together.
INDIVIDUALS
The Parlour Collective is a great way to raise your voice, shape your career, provide and seek advice, contribute to crucial discussions, and get things done together!
The Collective enables you to contribute, to be supported and to support others. We also plan to develop Collective workshops and other activities that are not otherwise available to individuals.
Be seen, find your voice and support others – join the Collective today!
PRACTICES / ORGANISATIONS
Being part of the Parlour Collective helps convey your organisation’s values (to colleagues, employees and clients), build your culture, invest in staff development, and attract the best and the brightest.
Equally important, is the opportunity to learn, to share knowledge, to give back to the profession and help build an equitable and robust future for all.
Stand up and be part of the solution – join the Collective today!
Collective Benefits for all
Many of the Parlour Collective benefits are available to all – regardless of the level you sign up for. Everyone has access to the following:
Benefits per level
The Parlour Collective is organised into three tiers, with three levels in each tier. Everyone can find something that suits them and the contribution they are interested and able to make.
Those who join at the mid and top tiers enjoy additional concrete benefits, commensurate with increased contribution – from event tickets to in-house Marion’s List workshops, post-event discussion sessions and the ability to host a talks. Click on the accordian below for detail.
Our entry tier, aimed at individuals and sole traders who are keen to get involved in the Collective.
These levels bring all the fantastic Collective Benefits outlined above.
Our mid tier is for those who are ready and able to contribute more to the Collective – small and medium-sized practices and more established people.
Our top tier for large practices and organisations and those able to give back generously, while making the most of all the Collective offers.
Notes: At the top levels there is some flexibility in the benefits. We are happy to discuss options with practices and organisations. Individuals at these levels can also negotiate alternative benefits to suit or could gift a talk or session to an organisation of their choice. Get in touch to discuss.
How do I get involved?
There are many ways to get involved. Here are a few suggestions to help you and/or your practice or organisation get started.
Develop your voice
The Parlour Collective offers many opportunities to speak up, to share knowledge and to develop voice.
For example, Parlour Collective supporters can sign up to guest host Parlour instagram; tell their story with a Letter to My Younger Self; or contribute to one of Parlour’s other editorial series.
Shape your profession
Contribute to reshaping the built environment professions with an organisation with proven effectiveness in getting things done, raising challenging topics and making change.
For example, practices can share knowledge through the Equity in Practice series; contribute to and/or lead the planned Parlour Collective working groups; support our research programs; participate in Parlour’s growing advocacy program; be an active participant in the many discussion events.
Use Parlour research and resources to help strategise for the future.
Express your values
Joining the Parlour Collective is a simple way to demonstrate your values – and to stand by them.
For example, people are carefully considering who they work for and the kind of workplace they want to be part of. In this competitive environment, the Parlour Collective marque will become a looked-for attribute.
Clients are increasingly looking to align on values, while social procurement requirements are increasing.
Build culture
Participating in the Parlour Collective is a great way to help build the culture of your practice or organisation. This can occur in formal and informal ways.
For example, bring the practice together for Parlour online events, followed by practice-based discussions.
Use Parlour resources, content and videos to initiate and frame conversations.
Encourage people within the practice to participate in Parlour – for example join Marion’s List, attend Parlour Salons, guest host Parlour Instagram and much more.
Invest in the future
Parlour has many future plans – mentoring, a model policy library, Agony Aunt and much more. All will create benefits for the Collective, the community and the professions.
Join us to help make these all happen!
For further information, check out the Parlour Collective What / Why / Who, FAQ and Fine Print. Or just sign up!
Join the Parlour Collective today!
Your support is essential to our future – together we make a difference
Joining the Collective means supporting everyone. There are options to suit every circumstance, and all bring the lovely warm feeling that comes with being part of the Parlour Collective.
INDIVIDUALS
Choose your own adventure! Take a look at the options below, select the one that best suits and click to sign up.
PRACTICES
Consider the size of your organisation, the contribution you want to make, the benefits of participating and message you want to convey.
We recommend small and medium practices look at the mid-tier options, and encourage larger practices and organisations to join at the top tier.
The Collective is an annual program. Subscriptions renew yearly from the date of sign up. This can be switched to ‘one time’ when signing up, or at any time during the year.
For more information, take a look at the benefits, read about future plans, check out our FAQ and the Parlour Collective Fine Print, or get in touch.
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I can’t think where the profession would be without the projects and research you have nurtured over the years.
Your work has had a huge impact and is inspirational for its generosity of spirit and wide-reaching impact.”
— Kirsten Orr
Do you have more questions about the Collective?
Start by perusing the FAQs below, and check out the Parlour Collective Fine Print too.
If you have more queries, please get in touch. We will add to the list of FAQs over time.
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From the very beginning Parlour has aimed for radical inclusion – we are here for everyone and anyone who wants to be involved. Put simply, by joining the Parlour Collective, you are helping to ensure that this inclusive approach can continue. This includes maintaining our outstanding editorial and event programs, and helping fund the ongoing development of new research, projects and initiatives.
The Parlour Collective pricing structure is broad – from $15,000+ at the very top to just $42 at the entry level. The Starter level is designed to be as accessible as possible, allowing anyone to join the Collective at minimal cost. Plans for gift subscriptions and a ‘pay it forward’ program will increase accessibility further.
The Parlour Collective is a part of our strategy to secure a long-term future and to ensure that we can continue providing a space for all, along with the research and resources needed to help shape the future of the built environment professions.
If enough people and practices join the Parlour Collective, we can keep going with the things that you know and love, and tackle more of the projects on the to-do list. As part of the Collective, you’ll get some great special benefits in recognition of your support and material contribution, along with the lovely feeling of knowing that you are contributing to the future for all.
We know it is a lot to digest – and we thank you for persevering! Our community is very broad, and we want to accommodate all circumstances. We have nine options so that everyone can find a level within their budget and that they feel comfortable with.
No! Parlour has always been for everyone who is interested, and the Parlour Collective is just the same. All are welcome!
The benefits will be the same either way, but if you sign up under your business name this will be listed on the Meet the Parlour Collective page – which might be best for your profile.
Yes! Please do. We greatly value our international friends and colleagues, and would love to have you join us on our latest adventure.
No. Practices sign up to the Parlour Collective as an entity, not a group of individuals. The entity then has access to the benefits associated with the selected level. It can share these with individuals as it chooses.
We would love to have you join us as an individual too. This enables us to stay in touch if you change jobs.
Yes! We would love to welcome them to the Parlour Collective. We are just working out the mechanism for the gift subscription now. For now, just get in touch.
Joining the Parlour Collective does not automatically confer endorsement. (But we do greatly appreciate the support.)
For practices, being part of the Parlour Collective is an excellent way to communicate values to staff, clients and the wider community, but it is up to the practice to ensure that it lives these values in its day-to-day operations.
Yes and no (and we are working on it!).
Being part of the Parlour Collective is a credential that may be used to demonstrate commitments to gender equity in relation to social procurement requirements. But, as above, joining the Collective does not confer Parlour Inc’s endorsement.
One of our plans for the future is to develop the Parlour Collective Charter – in collaboration with the Collective participants. As a practice, signing up to the Charter will provide additional weight to the commitment to equity. The planned model policy library will also be a very useful resource.
At this stage, we are not in a position to provide an auditing service for a practice’s equity policies and processes. However, we are interested to explore this in the future – most likely as a separate fee-for-service offer to Parlour Collective practices.
In Australia, the ATO states that you can claim a deduction for “subscriptions to trade, business or professional associations” for the industry you work in. As explained below, Parlour is not a professional association, but it does provide support, resources and tools relevant to the built environment professions.
For those not working in the field, “You can also claim up to $42 per income year for the cost of each subscription you incur for membership of a trade, business or professional association where it is not in direct relation to earning your employment income.” This is the basis of our $42 Parlour Starter level.
Those in other countries will need to check the relevant tax law.
No. Parlour Inc continues to be an incorporated association that aims to be of service to the entire community. A professional association is a different type of organisation, which predominantly serves the needs of its members. There are plenty of hardworking professional associations and institutes for the built environment professions in Australia. We provide a complementary program, and are pleased to collaborate with relevant professional associations where appropriate.
Of course! (But we do hope you might be interested to join one day.)
We look forward to working with you at the Parlour Collective. Sign up today!
Introducing the people, practices & organisations of the Parlour Collective
We are thrilled that the following practices and individuals have joined the Parlour Collective. We thank you for your support and we are excited about working together.
The Parlour Collective
To add your name to the Parlour Collective, join now! You will be in great company.
