The Kids in Communities Study: national investigation of community level effects on children's developmental outcomes. This project (a cross-disciplinary collaboration) will investigate community level factors influencing early childhood developmental outcomes using a mixed methods approach in up to 10 communities across Australia. This will result in a potential set of measures or indicators that reflect communities that are good for children.
Philanthropy and Indigenous people: Enhancing Indigenous education outcomes. Indigenous Australians suffer a disparity in educational outcomes that frays the social fabric of the nation. While there is abundant evidence that education is empowering and the social and economic benefits of improving educational outcomes are significant, past and current efforts to increase educational attainment and enhance outcomes among the nation's most disadvantaged citizens have not achieved the gains most ex ....Philanthropy and Indigenous people: Enhancing Indigenous education outcomes. Indigenous Australians suffer a disparity in educational outcomes that frays the social fabric of the nation. While there is abundant evidence that education is empowering and the social and economic benefits of improving educational outcomes are significant, past and current efforts to increase educational attainment and enhance outcomes among the nation's most disadvantaged citizens have not achieved the gains most expected. A promising new pathway exists in creative and innovative approaches to the support of Indigenous education by a small number of philanthropic bodies. This research will examine philanthropy in this area and will provide important practical insights of value to the nation.Read moreRead less
Custom-based land and resource management and the educational and social re-engagement of Indigenous youth in the Northern Territory. Social and educational disengagement has reached crisis levels among Indigenous youth in many remote communities; young people are leaving school and training programs because they perceive them to be irrelevant or meaningless. The social cost of this phenomenon is high. This project aims to identify ways to combine Indigenous customary and western science-based l ....Custom-based land and resource management and the educational and social re-engagement of Indigenous youth in the Northern Territory. Social and educational disengagement has reached crisis levels among Indigenous youth in many remote communities; young people are leaving school and training programs because they perceive them to be irrelevant or meaningless. The social cost of this phenomenon is high. This project aims to identify ways to combine Indigenous customary and western science-based land and resource management knowledge and practice with locally and culturally meaningful education and training programs to re-engage young people with learning and their wider communities. The project will produce a series of scholarly outcomes in addition to a coordinated model for strategic policy and program development.
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Children, Community and Social Capital in Australia. Contributing to our understanding of children's roles and contributions to their communities in Australia, this research will strengthen the basis for policies and interventions relating to social inclusion, community strengthening, children's well-being and family policy. Currently, there is a strong policy focus on children's issues in Australia, but children's own experiences and perspectives are often missing from policy deliberations. T ....Children, Community and Social Capital in Australia. Contributing to our understanding of children's roles and contributions to their communities in Australia, this research will strengthen the basis for policies and interventions relating to social inclusion, community strengthening, children's well-being and family policy. Currently, there is a strong policy focus on children's issues in Australia, but children's own experiences and perspectives are often missing from policy deliberations. This research will provide the foundation for policy and interventions that are inclusive of children and value children as community members and citizens. Read moreRead less
ARACY/ARC/NHMRC Research Network: Future Generation. Research across a range of disciplines is urgently needed to understand the complexity of pathways contributing to the healthy development of children and young people in modern societies like Australia and to develop effective strategies to improve them. Given our economic prosperity and the level of knowledge about human development, it is profoundly disappointing that many child and youth problems are increasing, creating a crisis in servi ....ARACY/ARC/NHMRC Research Network: Future Generation. Research across a range of disciplines is urgently needed to understand the complexity of pathways contributing to the healthy development of children and young people in modern societies like Australia and to develop effective strategies to improve them. Given our economic prosperity and the level of knowledge about human development, it is profoundly disappointing that many child and youth problems are increasing, creating a crisis in services. This application brings together a highly talented network of researchers to work collaboratively and innovatively with policy makers and those providing services, to enable both new knowledge and implementation of what we already know, to enhance children's futures.Read moreRead less
Integrating measures of Indigenous land management effectiveness. Land management is the fastest growing Indigenous employment sector in Australia yet methods for assessing its effectiveness are poorly developed. This project will work with Indigenous land managers and their major environmental service delivery partners to develop and agree on measures of land management effectiveness to meet multiple objectives.
New public management, Aboriginal organisations, and Indigenous rights. This project aims to understand links between recent new public management reforms, particularly in New South Wales, and the operation and capacity of successful urban Aboriginal organisations. The project will include an analysis of case studies from other international jurisdictions (such as New Zealand and Canada). Urban Aboriginal organisations have a distinctive role in society in relation to urban Aboriginal peoples a ....New public management, Aboriginal organisations, and Indigenous rights. This project aims to understand links between recent new public management reforms, particularly in New South Wales, and the operation and capacity of successful urban Aboriginal organisations. The project will include an analysis of case studies from other international jurisdictions (such as New Zealand and Canada). Urban Aboriginal organisations have a distinctive role in society in relation to urban Aboriginal peoples and their rights to self-determination and community development. The outcomes from this project will provide evidence-based research to improve public policy understandings of the distinct role Urban Aboriginal organisations play in society, as well as insights from international comparative research.Read moreRead less
Implementing the remote jobs and communities program: how is policy working in Indigenous communities? The purpose of this project is to document and assess the implementation of a new government program in the area of Indigenous employment and remote communities. The outcome of this project will be a greater understanding of the potential for such programs to be collaborative with Indigenous communities and integrated across government, while also promoting employment.
From welfare to work, or work to welfare: will reform of the Community Development Employment Program help close the employment gap? This project seeks to improve Indigenous livelihood options through a comprehensive analysis of recent reform of the Community Development Employment Program (CDEP). In examining the impetus for change and tracking outcomes, it will greatly advance understanding of appropriate responses to seemingly intractable Indigenous development problems.
The practice of accountability in Australian Indigenous corporations. As Australian Indigenous corporations are fundamental to economic participation and social provision in the nation’s Indigenous communities this project will contribute to increasing and sustaining social and economic participation in these communities. While there is a new Act governing Australian Indigenous corporations there has been little work to evaluate the implementation and implications of the Act. Therefore this pro ....The practice of accountability in Australian Indigenous corporations. As Australian Indigenous corporations are fundamental to economic participation and social provision in the nation’s Indigenous communities this project will contribute to increasing and sustaining social and economic participation in these communities. While there is a new Act governing Australian Indigenous corporations there has been little work to evaluate the implementation and implications of the Act. Therefore this project is timely and important. The fundamental question is how these organisations can both serve the needs of their local communities and meet broader accountability obligations expected of them. This issue is fundamental to the delivery of state funded services and benefits to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.Read moreRead less