This partnership program supports up to 10 pilot councils to deliver demonstration projects aimed at improving perception of the safety for women, girls and gender diverse people when walking or moving to, through public spaces and transport hubs.
Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: Up to $1,000,000
- Application opened: 4 July 2022
- Application closed: 24 February 2023, 5:00 pm
Program objective
Safer Cities: Her Way is a collaborative program between the Transport for NSW and pilot councils across NSW to create and test positive long-term change in public space through demonstration projects.
Her Way is part of and supports the broader Safer Cities Program objectives by delivering on-the-ground demonstration projects. The Safer Cities Program has three aims, which are aligned with the United Nations Safer Cities for Girls program:
- Increasing women and girls’ safety and access to public spaces.
- Enabling women and girls’ to move freely and alone in their community.
- Increasing women and girls’ engagement with how the spaces around them are designed and managed.
Her Way trials concepts that aim to improve perceptions of safety for women, girls and gender diverse people when walking or moving to, through and within public spaces and transport hubs.
Each project will explore ways to unlock better (improved quality) and activated (the number of people regularly using the place) public space.
Councils will develop temporary demonstration projects that reflect local place identity, character and needs, and use short-term, scalable, lower-cost methods to test concepts for future permanent change.
This program is funded and administered by Transport for NSW.
Eligibility
Who can apply
- Eligible councils across Greater Sydney and regional NSW (see assessment criteria below).
Who can’t apply
- Councils without Urban Areas as defined (for example areas with a population of greater than 10,000).
Types of projects funded under this grant
- Pilot councils will develop temporary demonstration projects that use short-term, scalable, lower cost methods to quickly test how to make public spaces feel safer for women, girls and gender diverse people.
- Transport for NSW is contributing up to $1 million split across two financial years to each of the councils.
What can’t you apply for
Capital equipment, meaning any item of tangible property, purchased, leased, created or otherwise brought into existence wholly, or in part, with the use of the funding, which has at that time a value of over $5,000 inclusive of GST, but does not include project material.
Example projects
The pilot councils will deliver demonstration projects which are a form of temporary intervention.
They use short-term, tactical methods to test projects quickly, create neighbourhoods and enliven public spaces.
Councils can try out ideas with pilots, pop-ups, short-term treatments and semi-permanent changes.
These temporary projects respond to an immediate need, as well as create an evidence-base of benefits to help build the case for longer-term change.
Each project will be developed through co-design workshops with local women and designed to reflect local place identity and character.
Most recent recipients
What your application needs to include
For more information about this program go to Safer Cities: Her Way and Safer Cities Program.
Address the eligibility criteria
To determine eligibility councils were assessed using data analysis to be eligible for funding.
All councils in NSW that contain a defined Urban Area were eligible for assessment through data analysis.
Urban Areas for the purpose of this program are areas with a population greater than 10,000 people in NSW.
Councils that contained an Urban Area were assessed using data analysis with the criteria focussed on targeting areas to help improve the perceptions of safety of women and girls in public spaces.
Address the assessment criteria
To determine the eligible pilot councils, a data analysis approach was used for metro and regional NSW with the criteria focussed on improving the perceptions of safety of women and girls in public spaces, and centred around the following themes:
- Planning and Economy
- Safety
- Active Transport
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities
- Environment
Councils were also assessed to ensure strategic alignment with the Safer Cities Program.
Review was undertaken to confirm councils’ strategic priorities aligned to the program’s outcomes and themes of safety, walkability, and access to public space.
As a result, the eligible pilot councils span across the six cities and regional areas of NSW each with differing demographics and sociocultural environments, and therefore, provide unique opportunities to improve mobility and access for women and girls.
A weighted score was applied, and this resulted in all LGAs with a defined Urban Area being ranked.
The 6 highest ranking Sydney metro councils and the 4 highest ranking regional councils were determined eligible.
Start the application
Eligible pilot councils were invited to participate as part of the program between October 2022 and January 2023.
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: Minister for Infrastructure, Minister for Cities, and Minister for Active Transport
Transport for NSW will work collaboratively with the eligible pilot councils to create and test positive long-term change in public space through demonstration projects.