IMPACT is a flexible, scientifically-grounded capacity-building program – built to grow thriving people and communities.

This page is dedicated to unpacking “scientifically grounded” – bringing focus to the following:

Developmental journey.
Scientific underpinnings (trauma, wellbeing and implementation science).
IMPACT as a living and adaptive system.

Developmental Journey

Lead Developer: Dr Ivan Raymond

IMPACT has been developed and refined by Dr Ivan Raymond over more than fifteen years. It is built on the foundation of Ivan’s 25+ years of professional experience supporting children, young people, families and adults exposed to trauma and complex needs—through roles including mentor, youth worker, residential care worker, clinical psychologist, consultant, trainer, coach and researcher.

Over the past decade, the public-facing framework Intentional Practice (www.intentionalpractice.org) has been articulated as a shared approach and language for applying wellbeing, trauma-informed, growth and resilience science in real-world settings. Drawing on his PhD work and multiple collaborative research partnerships, Ivan translated key features of (1) wellbeing, (2) trauma and (3) implementation science into “practical” and “sticky” concepts that can make a real difference in how care, support and teaching is provided.

IMPACT formalised into its present structure and identity in late 2016, with the introduction of its signature What-What-How^®model and framework (a registered trademark)—a pivotal innovation that enables children and adults alike to plan and action an intent, based upon what is most important.

From 2016 to 2018, the IMPACT Program (with support from the Life Buoyancy Institute) served as a key feature of SAHMRI’s Resilient Futures initiative—a major AUD 1.1 million project to enhance wellbeing and resilience among 1,400 young South Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Within ‘Resilient Futures’, the IMPACT Program provided the tools and shared approach for multiple alternative education schools, mental health sites and community-based non-government agencies to:

Understand and respond to the deeper ‘under the surface’ needs driving educational, wellbeing and whole-of-life youth outcomes.
Enable core wellbeing and resilience skills to be intentionally taught to young people with diverse needs and contexts.
Empower agencies and systems to work together in ‘shared intent’ and optimally grow and support young people.

Independent and internal evaluations have identified intentional practice—operationalised via IMPACT—as a cornerstone of that program’s success.

Since then, IMPACT has continued to evolve through ongoing research, real-world application and deep collaboration between science and practice. Its development is guided by continuous learning, participatory feedback and integration with emerging technologies.

In 2025, IMPACT began a new chapter — translating its core content, meta-cognitive processes and key methods (such as Growth Action Planning) into forms that can be intuitively used alongside artificial intelligence. In essence, IMPACT is working to offer a range of AI Activated Embedding Tools, bringing seamless integration with emerging technologies. Watch this space.

I’ve always been curious about one big question: how do we actually make a real difference in the lives of the people we’re entrusted to support?Over the years, I’ve worked alongside many children, families and adults living with complex challenges. What I’ve learned is that people — and the situations they find themselves in — are rarely simple. Real growth and healing don’t happen in isolation and they’re never the result of just one person or one strategy.As a society, I think we need to move beyond the search for quick fixes or the idea that clinicians and experts alone can solve the hard stuff. Their role is important— but lasting change happens when we also tap into the wisdom, skills and strengths that already exist within people and communities.When people work together with shared intent, grounded in good evidence and genuine care, drawing upon individual and collective wisdom, that’s when meaningful outcomes take shape.That’s what the IMPACT Program is all about — and it’s what keeps me passionate about leading its continual development and improvement. Because when we empower people and communities to work together, amazing things can happen.
Dr Ivan Raymond

Scientific Underpinnings

1. Trauma Science

Trauma science explores how adverse experiences shape the brain, body, emotions, identity and behaviour — influencing how people think, learn, relate and cope. It shows that trauma can disrupt safety, trust and connection, the foundations of healthy functioning.

Building on this understanding, trauma science emphasises creating environments and relationships that restore these foundations. Safety, trust and connection are the starting points for healing and growth.

IMPACT focuses on being trauma-responsive — moving beyond awareness (or just being trauma-aware or informed) to intentional, personalised actions that respond (rather than react) to each person’s unique needs and context.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513-531. 10.1037/0003-066X.32.7.513
Marvin, R., Cooper, G., Hoffman, K., & Powell, B. (2002). The Circle of Security project: Attachment-based intervention with caregiver-pre-school child dyads. Attachment & Human Development, 4(1), 107-124.
Kagan, R. (2014). Rebuilding attachments with traumatized children: Healing from losses, violence, abuse, and neglect. Routledge.
Perry, B. D. (2001). The neurodevelopmental impact of violence in childhood. In D. Schetky & E. Benedek (Eds.), Textbook of child and adolescent psychiatry (pp. 221-238). American Psychiatric Press.
Siegel, D.J. (2015). Interpersonal neurobiology as a lens into the development of wellbeing and resilience. Children Australia. 40(2):160–4. doi: 10.1017/cha.2015.7

2. Wellbeing Science

Wellbeing science draws from the fields of positive psychology, neuroscience and human development.

Positive psychology has helped shift the focus from treating what’s wrong to growing what’s strong — exploring the conditions that enable people, relationships and communities to thrive.

Wellbeing science builds on this foundation, integrating evidence on emotions, strengths, purpose and connection to understand what supports human flourishing. At its core, it’s about translating this science into everyday actions that nurture growth, resilience and meaning — principles that sit at the heart of IMPACT.

Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). Practicing positive psychology coaching: Assessment, activities and strategies for success. John Wiley & Sons.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268.
Dweck, C. (2012). Mindset: How you can fulfil your potential. Constable & Robinson.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2012). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Simon and Schuster.
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification (Vol. 1). Oxford University Press.
Siegel, D. J. (2009). Mindful awareness, mindsight, and neural integration. The Humanistic Psychologist, 37(2), 137-158.
Wilson, K. G., & Murrell, A. R. (2004). Values work in acceptance and commitment therapy. In S. C. Hayes, V. M. Follette, & M. M. Lineham (Eds.), Mindfulness and acceptance: Expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition (pp. 102-151). Guildford.

3. Implementation Science (Knowledge Translation)

IMPACT is grounded in the fields of implementation science and knowledge translation. Knowledge translation focuses on sharing and applying scientific evidence across relationships and systems, while implementation science explores how to put that knowledge into action — or the “to” in science-to-practice.

Together, they aim to make evidence-based ideas stick — shaping the thinking, decisions and actions of individuals and organisations (Raymond, 2023). This is the heart of IMPACT – turning sound science into practical, lasting change that lives in everyday practice.

Fixsen DL, Naoom SF, Blase KA, Friedman RM, Wallace F. Implementation research: A synthesis of the literature. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, The National Implementation Research Network (FMHI Publication # 231) (2005).
Raymond, I. J. (2023). Intentional practice: A common language, approach and set of methods to design, adapt and implement contextualised wellbeing solutions. Frontiers of Health Services, 3. doi: 10.3389/frhs.2023.963029
Raymond, I. J., Burke, K. J., Agnew, K. J., & Kelly, D. M. (2023). Wellbeing-responsive community: A growth target for intentional mental health promotion. Frontiers in Public Health, 11. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1271954
Raymond, I.J. (2020). Intentional practice as a method to reduce the implementation gap between science and practice in the delivery of trauma-informed residential care. Residential Treatment for Children and Youth. 37(1), 20-45. doi: 10.1080/0886571X.2019.1633985
Raymond, I.J., Iasiello, M., Kelly, D. Jarden, A. (2019). Program logic modelling and complex positive psychology intervention design and implementation: The ‘Resilient Futures’ case example. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 3(1), 43-67. doi: 10.1007/s41042-019-00014-7

Living and Adaptive System

For Changing Local and World Contexts

The IMPACT Program is a living and adaptive system—constantly learning, evolving and reshaping itself through: (1) real-world practice, (2) reflection, (3) participatory feedback, (4) research and evaluation and (5) emerging and new technologies.

It grows through collaboration with practitioners, organisations and communities who apply it across diverse contexts. As new insights emerge from science, lived experience and changing social and technological landscapes, including advances in artificial intelligence, IMPACT continues to evolve.

This ensures the program remains responsive, relevant and practical—able to meet the complex realities of human wellbeing and systems change.

IMPACT doesn’t just teach contextualisation and adaptability, it embodies it—seeking growth and improvement alongside the people it serves.