1. 1
“Big Data and Mobile
Saved My Life”
w w w . i n s t i n c t a n d r e a s o n . c o m
4 December 2014

2. Suicide – the problem and the solution
2
• globally, there is a suicide every 40
seconds and most are preventable
• every year in Australia:
• 370,000 people think about suicide
• 65,000 people attempt suicide
• 2,500 take their own lives
• suicide is a problem and suicide is a
solution – what’s the real problem?
• time for big ideas, breakthrough
thinking, new solutions
Remember you are never alone:
Lifeline 13 11 14
lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service
1300 65 94 67
suicidecallbackservice.org.au
beyondblue
1300 22 46 36
Mensline Australia 1300 78 99 78
mensline.org.au

3. RSA Big Ideas for Suicide Prevention
3
1. Listen Hear!
2. Digital Life Saving
3. Tracking for Life
4. National Research Plan
5. Life at Work
6. Young Life
7. No Life Sentence
8. Rural Life in Mind
9. Indigenous Life
10. Eating for Life
• Global conversation via the RSA Fellowship , LinkedIn Groups,
and a dedicated online board, involving 500 people
• Involving those ‘in the system’ and those not ‘in the system’

4. RSA Big Ideas for Suicide Prevention
4
1. Listen Hear!
2. Digital Life Saving
3. Tracking for Life
4. National Research Plan
5. Life at Work
6. Young Life
7. No Life Sentence
8. Rural Life in Mind
9. Indigenous Life
10. Eating for Life
• Life at Work embraces getting young people into work, long-
term unemployed people back into work, mentally healthy
work environments, and sustainable communities at work

5. Transforming workplace mental health
– Heads Up
5
31
14
11
8 8
6 6 5 5 5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
%
• Instinct and Reason choice model with no
prompting shows a mentally healthy workplace is
second only to pay in driving job choices

6. Big Ideas for Suicide Prevention
- a National Research Plan
6
1. Listen Hear!
2. Digital Life Saving
3. Tracking for Life
4. National Research Plan
5. Life at Work
6. Young Life
7. No Life Sentence
8. Rural Life in Mind
9. Indigenous Life
10. Eating for Life
• National Research Plan to pool our current knowledge of the
issues and solutions and to build an evidence-based plan for
suicide prevention, including priorities for funding.

7. Collective Impact model for Suicide Prevention
& the National Research Action Plan
7
Common
agenda
Shared goals &
measures
Common
reporting
framework
Mutually
reinforcing
activities
Continuous
communication
Backbone
organisation

8. Evidence-based goal-setting & goal-achieving
8
• first set a goal
• then focus on the goal…
• …halving the number of suicides and suicide attempts within 10 years
• work out how to get everyone staying focused on the goal
• ask ‘how will we achieve our goal?’
• monitor how we are doing in achieving our goal
• evaluate what we are doing to achieve our goal
• keep asking ‘what do we need to know to be able to achieve that goal?’
• information not related to our goal is an obstacle to achieving our goal!
• priorities and focus are the keys to achieving our goal

9. Desired state planning and change leadership
9
Baseline
Latest
Snapshot
Finishing Line
Current
State
Desired
State
Pull factor
Push factor
Engagement factor

10. National Research Plan for Suicide Prevention
- engagement process
10
ContentProcess Principles Plans Priorities
Open the Diamond to explore
process, people, principles,
potential content, partnerships,
shared goals, potential barriers,
pooling of resources
Close the Diamond to converge
on content, jointly draft plans,
and all agree on priorities
Separate research & engagement
with key stakeholder groups – researchers,
service providers, policymakers & advocates,
funders, and people with lived experience.
Integrated consultation &
engagement with all stakeholder groups
and individuals, including open
opportunity to comment

11. National Research Action Plan
– workshops & forums
11

12. National Research Action Plan
– workshops framework
12
Reducing
suicides and
suicide
attempts by
50% in 10
years
National
Research
Action Plan
Looking
forward – and
taking up the
challenge
Looking
sideways –
and taking
notice
Looking
back – and
taking stock
Looking
forward –
2024
Looking
forward –
September
2015

13. Creating a better future
– the journey of hope
13
Imagine it is WSPD 10 Sept 2015…
1. What will be in the National
Research Action Plan document?
2. What will the key principles be
guiding research/research
funding?
3. What will the key research
priorities be?
4. What else would you expect to be
in the National Research Action
Plan document – key action points,
recommendations, chapter
headings?
5. What won’t be in it or won’t be
prioritised?
Imagine it is 2024…
1. What will success look like when
we have achieved our goal of
halving the number of suicides &
suicide attempts?
2. What does the world of suicide
prevention, intervention and
postvention look like in 10 years’
time?
3. What does the world of suicide
prevention research & evaluation
look like in 10 years’ time?
4. How did we get here?
5. What target are we setting now –
and why?

14. Being prepared to be helped
14
Q1 The Prime Minister says “we want to help halve the number of
suicides and suicide attempts – what specifically can we do to help
you achieve that goal?”
WHAT ANSWER WOULD YOU GIVE?
Q2 A corporate funder or philanthropist says “we want to fund an
initiative to help halve the numbers of suicides and suicide attempts –
what specifically can we do to help you achieve that goal?”
WHAT ANSWER WOULD YOU GIVE?

15. RSA Big Ideas for Suicide Prevention
15
1. Listen Hear!
2. Digital Life Saving
3. Tracking for Life
4. National Research Plan
5. Life at Work
6. Young Life
7. No Life Sentence
8. Rural Life in Mind
9. Indigenous Life
10. Eating for Life
• Tracking for Life emerged as a transformational change
initiative because half of those who take their own lives are
already ‘in the system’ so there is potential for permission-based
tracking & support services to have a significant impact.

16. RSA Big Ideas for Suicide Prevention
16
1. Listen Hear!
2. Digital Life Saving
3. Tracking for Life
4. National Research Plan
5. Life at Work
6. Young Life
7. No Life Sentence
8. Rural Life in Mind
9. Indigenous Life
10. Eating for Life
• Digital Life Saving emerged as another transformational change
initiative because we know we can identify people at risk from
their publicly available conversations and get appropriate
messages of support to them
• It was one of the winners in the 2014 TEDxSydney Fast Ideas
competition for the “best idea worth spreading”.

17. Digital Life Saving
– an idea worth spreading!
17
• the modern day equivalent of the telephone helpline introduced in the UK in 1953
(Samaritans) and Australia in 1963 (Lifeline)
• applying what we know about Big Data, data science, social media monitoring, digital
marketing, one-to-one mobile, etc communication to the problem of suicide prevention
• applying what we know about commercial marketing to social marketing – and learn in
reverse too
• applying what we know about scientific innovation to social innovation – and learn in
reverse too
• addressing the technical challenge first – proving that it can be done
• then addressing the other issues – ethical, logistical, political, appropriate & effective
management, sustainable 24/7
• researching key messages and ways of communicating the message – help not harm
• collaborate don’t compete – find relevant partners
• make it happen – be relentlessly committed to implementation

18. Transformation through technology
– latest developments…and how can you help?
18

19. Keeping the conversation going
– and enlisting the world’s leaders!
19

20. Remember
– you are never alone!
20
Lifeline
13 11 14
lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service
1300 65 94 67
suicidecallbackservice.org.au
beyondblue
1300 22 46 36
Mensline Australia
1300 78 99 78
mensline.org.au

21. For further information please contact:
Level 1, 420 Elizabeth Street
Surry Hills
NSW 2010
t: +61 (0) 2 9283 2233
e: pvittles@instinctandreason.com