Understanding barriers to systems change among regional Western Australian food security initiative leaders

Food security (FS) is a complex, 'wicked' issue involving regular and reliable physical, social, and economic access to food. People living in geographically isolated areas are disproportionately affected by FS challenges and addressing these issues demands a systems-based approach. The Food Community project has implemented an adapted Systemic Innovation Lab (SIL) approach to support FS initiatives operating across rural, regional, and remote Western Australia to enhance their effectiveness. This paper aimed to identify what FS initiative leaders perceive as barriers to delivering their services, in relation to undertaking activities that align with the 36 systems change characteristics embedded within the nine Focus Areas of the SIL approach. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted between December 2022 and November 2023 with leaders of FS initiatives servicing inner regional, outer regional, and very remote townships of Western Australia. Ninety-four interviews were conducted with 101 initiative leaders. Initiative leaders were least likely to undertake activities that aligned with the systems change characteristics within Focus Areas 6-9, which relate to government-community engagement. This paper presents the barriers initiative leaders identified across the least-possessed systems change characteristics across all nine Focus Areas, with a specific focus on Focus Areas 6-9. Initiative leaders identified barriers to strategic engagement with government, including limited opportunities, a perceived lack of interest from government, and challenges to undertaking advocacy. Strengthening government-community interaction on FS requires support, such as through toolkits and guides, to build initiative leaders' advocacy skills and capacity to strategically engage with government representatives.