Griffith University: Launch of RealWell Pty Ltd

Edutech startup RealWell Pty Ltd and Griffith University are pleased to announce their partnership to deliver tools for advancing the wellbeing of children, their parents, and their communities.

RealWell resources are designed for use in both schools and community agencies and include reliable measures, videos, administration dashboards, user support and training materials, a secure database, and data visualization tools for instant report generation.

RealWell is a for-purpose social enterprise that has drawn on decades of scientific research and practical innovation to develop these pioneering assets. RealWell’s vision is to advance child wellbeing by using science to equip and empower organisations dedicated to the service of children and families.

RealWell’s origins are in research led by Emeritus Professor Ross Homel AO, Dr Kate Freiberg, Dr Sara Branch, Dr Jacqueline Allen, and Professor Tara McGee within Griffith University’s Criminology Institute. In 2022 Ross, Kate and Industry Fellow Richard Davey, with the support of Brisbane-based platform and content firm InVision Media and the University launched a new company, RealWell Pty Ltd. The company is independent of Griffith University but maintains both its vision of community action to improve children’s wellbeing and a strong research and development partnership with the University.

The new company was launched with a powerful and well-established set of tools for assessment of wellbeing. Core to the portfolio are Rumble’s Quest and the Parent Empowerment and Efficacy Measure, both developed within Griffith University by Professor Homel’s team in partnership with InVision, and now acquired from the University.

Rumble’s Quest was a finalist in the Best Educational App section of the Australian Teachers of Media (ATOM) Awards in 2019. The paper by Dr Freiberg and her colleagues describing the development and properties of PEEM was awarded the 2014 Norman Smith Publication in Social Work Research Award for best publication that year by the Editorial Board of Australian Social Work.

In the past five years RealWell resources have been used by more than 100 schools, community partnerships, and organisations around Australia, ranging from national welfare organisations such as The Smith Family and Save the Children Australia through a Catholic School System and many individual state schools and local outreach ventures. More than 30,000 Australian children from almost all states have played Rumble’s Quest since 2016.

The formation of the new company will help turbocharge RealWell’s growth as a national resource to help bridge the gap between science and service. Placing powerful tools into the hands of frontline professionals will help take scientific innovations to scale, making them relevant to the lived experiences of children and families in diverse communities.

And RealWell has ambitions well beyond Australian shores! New Zealand has long had a national wellbeing agenda, and there are parallel developments in the UK, Europe and North America – not to mention our own neighbourhood in the Pacific and South East Asia.

Electronic resources like Rumble’s Quest, adapted to need and context, can be a powerful aide to scaling new scientific insights into how children and young people flourish, especially for those who are socially and economically marginalised.

RealWell Pty Ltd Director Richard Davey celebrated the launch.

“RealWell is an exciting new venture with a dedicated team and outstanding partners. We will build on the strong base of current products to develop new approaches addressing children’s and parent’s wellbeing. We are seeking new partnerships and product opportunities, and are delighted to be working alongside Griffith University in this mission.”

Griffith University Vice President (Industry & External Engagement) Dr Peter Binks congratulated the team on the launch of RealWell Pty Ltd.

“We are thrilled that RealWell Pty Ltd has been established, and we look forward to their ongoing success. The nourishment of childrens’ wellbeing, particularly those living in disadvantaged communities, is critical to our society, and RealWell Pty Ltd can play a vital role. We are also impressed by the energy and focus of the RealWell leadership team, and are keen to work alongside them as they grow.”