Final Report: Strengthening Community Research in ... - Ninti One

Executive summaryThis final project report summarises two research cycles of Participatory Action Research (PAR) undertaken by alocal community research team at Ntaria. Strengthening Community Research in Remote Service Delivery at Ntariawas managed and facilitated by Ninti One at the request of the Office for Indigenous Coordination Group )ICG),formerly Indigenous Policy Engagement Group (IPEG), FaHCSIA and at the invitation of Wurla Nyinta, the NtariaLocal Reference Group (LRG).Two research topics formed this project, the first of which had two research cycles:1. Topic: Safe driving at Ntaria Research cycle 1.1: Survey – Safe driving survey at Ntaria (May 2011) (reported in Lovell et al. 2011). Research cycle 1.2: Focus groups and photo elicitation – Vehicle Safety Focus groups (August andSeptember 2011) (Reported in Lovell et al. 2012).2. Topic: Wurla Nyinta Community Perception Survey (September–November 2011) (Reported in Lovell et al.2012).The formal objectives of the project were described in the Official Order for Ntaria as:To learn by doing an action research process that will support and build research knowledge, skills and competenciesin Ntaria through individuals who will become identified community researchers, including:A group of three to six Aboriginal people to be selected to become community researchers at Ntaria througha suitable process to be agreed by the communityResearch training, supervision, support and mentoring for the selected community researchers through acombination of formal workshops to be held in Alice Springs, the community and ongoing guidance and onthe-jobsupportParticipation in a program of research that enables strategic contributions to be made by communityrepresentatives to the implementation of Local Implementation Plans (LIPs) and future capacity tocontribute to monitoring and evaluation.In this document, we report that the project has achieved the required outcomes in line with the contractedobjectives, milestones and outputs. We illustrate the way that the project has engaged local community membersin participatory action learning and research. The results include building the capacity of individual researchersand of the local community and local reference group to engage with the Remote Service Delivery NationalPartnership Agreement (RSD NPA) through addressing actions and making recommendations aligned with theNtaria LIP.The PAR research cycles were designed to inform aspects of the LIP, and Ntaria decided early in the project to usethe research to support some selected community actions listed in the plan. Beyond the initial recommendations,there is now an opportunity for the local researchers to provide important detail to Wurla Nyinta about aspects ofSafe Driving, Vehicle Safety and Community Perceptions about Wurla Nyinta.For the research team, an early outcome was Ntaria community’s awareness of the project and of the topics ofresearch. The sustained interest from Ntaria residents is evidenced by requests we have received for morecommunity research from a range of local people – including residents and workers, as well as Wurla Nyintamembers – and by the levels of commitment and retention demonstrated by the research team.In the context of this contract, the research findings and recommendations provide Wurla Nyinta with tangible,grounded information useful for monitoring, evaluating and prioritising the progress of specific actions in the LIP.Wurla Nyinta’s role has been voluntary and advisory only, in the same way it has only an advisory role to the RSDNPA LIP process. Wurla Nyinta does not act as a steering committee for the research project, but it does receiveFinal Report: Strengthening Community Research in Remote Service Delivery at Ntariavii