The maintenance of culture and the inclusion of cultural values is a key part of the operation of most Indigenous organisations. Organisations actively work to find ways to make culture a core part of what they do, while also ensuring the organisation functions effectively.
To find out how some Indigenous organisations are preserving culture see below:
Brisbane Indigenous Media Association
The development of future leaders is one of the key aims of BIMA. The Association oversees the operation of 4 Triple A Training, which has a media focus and involves empowering young people, many of whom are unemployed or at risk, by providing communication skills, self-confidence and the experience working in a professional team environment. In the years ahead, they plan to expand this training to include face-to-face and virtual training for Indigenous people in regional and remote communities.
Geraldton Streetwork
Geraldton Streetwork has an Indigenous youth council, which aims to give young people leadership and role model qualities and the opportunity to gain training, attend workshops, forums and conferences. Members develop skills through organisation community events, representing the Indigenous youth of Geraldton and attending training camps.
Kari Aboriginal Resources Incorporated
Kari Aboriginal Resources operates the Enrichment Program: Youth Transition which offers 15 annual, ongoing scholarships to Indigenous Year 11-12 high school students in southwest Sydney who are doing well and trying hard to achieve. Students under this program are also offered ongoing support and mentoring.
Tangentyere Council
Tangentyere Council actively encourages young people to nominate for positions on their Executive Committees, where experienced committee members mentor them.
Tiwi Island Local Government - finalist, 2005 IGA
Through its Tiwi youth development unit, TILG is developing a Tiwi youth council comprising two young adults from each of the four skin groups on the two islands. In this way, young people are provided with the opportunity to have a say in the future development of their communities through a voice in local affairs.
Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre
Wangka Maya identifies young people to join the management committee, sometimes in shadowing roles which allow them to learn the role and move into leadership positions when they are confident, prepared and ready.
Top
The primary stakeholders of an organisation are the community members that it services and represents. Community members need to be kept informed of the activities of the organisation, and also have the opportunity to give feedback on the direction of the organisation.
In non-Indigenous governance tradition, this is primarily achieved through annual reports and AGMs, and representation on the board. However, Indigenous organisations are often expected to hold to a greater level of community input and are coming up with other innovative and practical ways to engage the community and ensure they have legitimacy within the community.
Brisbane Indigenous Media Association
BIMA has a strong emphasis on encouraging community input to decision making, through regular on-air announcements, by attending community meetings and events, prison visits and meetings with elders. This is particularly the case for issues concerning the maintenance of traditional culture and promotion of traditional community values.
Maari Ma Health Aboriginal Corporation - finalist, 2005 IGA
Maari Ma communicates with its members through community working parties which it has established in each Aboriginal community. These ‘community forums’ allow people to raise, discuss and debate issues of importance, and also to make decisions and policies about programs and services being delivered in the community. The community forums were designed to involve as many Aboriginal people as possible in the decision making that occurs in the community, ensuring that the community has a representative voice and that the vocal elements do not override the wishes of the whole community.
Sunrise Health Service - finalist, 2005 IGA
Sunrise Health Service operates with a number of health committees, whose primary role is to provide advice to the Board on priority and planning requirements for primary health care delivery in their 10 communities. The membership of these committees is open and includes traditional elders and representatives from sectional service areas, eg. crèches and aged care. The health committees also act as a pool for future board members.
Yamatji Marlpa Barna Baba Maaja Aboriginal Corporation
www.yamatji.org.au
This native title representative body uses an innovative working group structure to take instructions from traditional owners which allows them to work within the diverse traditional laws and customs of the communities they represent.
Financial and policy transparency
Daguragu Community Government Council
www.daguragu.nt.gov.au
Each year the Council develops a budget and business plan which is advertised around the community for two months. The plan and budget is then reviewed formally by the Council every three months. Council has highly successful policies which are fully documented on their website, and clearly spell out Council staff delegation roles and what must be tabled at Council meetings.
Involving the non-Indigenous community
Sunrise Health Service - finalist 2005 IGA
Sunrise Health Service involves and represents the non-Indigenous sector of its community base through a specific non-Indigenous sub-committee, which meets prior to Board meetings and was established under the ‘Rules of the Association.’
The twin challenges of remoteness and disparate populations are serious operational issues in some Indigenous organisations.
Find out how those organisations are overcoming these challenges, see below:
Service delivery - brokerage model
North Coast Aboriginal Corporation for Community Health - finalist, 2005 IGA
To provide better health services within a dispersed community, NCACCH on the Sunshine Coast operates under a very successful brokerage model whereby they find and refer their clients to local, high quality and cost effective health services. This taps into health services that are already available in the area, while also providing culturally appropriate support to their clients.
Representation - postal voting
Bungala Aboriginal Corporation
As the Corporation’s service area is quite large and includes many dispersed small communities, the BAC is in the process of introducing a ward system of representation, with voting by postal ballot conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission.
Telephone mentoring
Warlayirti Artists
Warlayirti Artists, based in the remote community of Balgo, has a telephone mentoring system for their Director where sessions are held once a fortnight for two hours with a consultant experienced in the management of community organisations, human resource management and communication. Given the success of this initiative, they plan to extend this offer to other staff members.
Attending board meetings - go-betweens for Elders
Yabur Yalgun CDEP
Conscious that many elders are unable to travel to attend meetings, Yabur Yulgun uses a ‘Baby elder’ - someone who has the knowledge and is respected as an elder, who operates as a running man or go-between to speak for and report back to the more infirm elders.
The separation of the strategic role of an organisation’s board and its staff is an important principle of governance. This separation keeps politics away from the operation of the organisation. Boards do this through the creation of policies, which the management of the organisation then follows when making day to day decisions.
Here are some examples of how Indigenous organisations are creating policies and monitoring their implementation:
Institute for Aboriginal Development - finalist, 2005 IGA
IAD uses a computer generated tracking system to review and monitor the implementation of Board decisions. This assists the Directorate in monitoring the progress of tasks being undertaken. Where they are not proceeding on schedule, tasks may be re-allocated, re-scheduled or undertaken by a project team or a consultant.
North Coast Aboriginal Corporation for Community Health - finalist, 2005 IGA
NCACCH have developed a comprehensive set of policy statements that provide the Executive Officer with a framework in which to apply operational decision-making and ensure it doesn’t take up valuable Board time. As the Board develops new policies, these are added to the framework to inform future decisions by the Executive Officer.
Top
The Board holds the organisation ‘in trust’ for its current and future members and stakeholders, and are legally accountable for their decisions. To fulfil their role, Board members need a variety of skills. Like non-Indigenous Board members, Aboriginal Board members need appropriate training and development opportunities to help them understand their roles and responsibilities. The training provided for Aboriginal Board members also needs to be tailored with an understanding of their language and cultural needs.
Here are some of the ways that organisations around Australia are demonstrating their commitment to developing strong, capable boards:
Kooljaman at Cape Leveque (Bardina Pty Ltd)
Kooljaman provides placements for 40 work experience students every year to learn about the operations and role of the Board. New Board members are taken to industry functions, workshops and conferences to learn more about the tourism industry, while experts are invited to Board meetings to advise on issues such as GST, FBT, industrial relations, obligations of office holders, etc. Through their leadership development program, identified future leaders are invited to participate in meetings and events to introduce them to the idea of potentially joining the Board at a future time.
South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council
SWALSC has employed consultants to carry out a ‘governance audit’ as the basis for a governance training program. The Council is also developing a governance toolkit which will be available for use by all Noongar organisations. The Council receive financial support from the private sector for its governance training work.
West Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Committee
WAITOC provides training to new Board members and matches them up with a current Board member who provides guidance until they feel competent enough to participate and contribute on their own. WAITOC’s Chair conducts a skills audit at each quarterly Board meeting to identify areas of improvement and determine follow-up action.
Wunan Foundation Inc
Wunan Foundation uses a Management Committee handbook to provide information to Board members on their roles and responsibilities. Prior to each quarterly meeting committee members participate in a thorough training session with the CEO and/or Special Advisor to ensure familiarity with committee issues. Each training session also covers a new specific governance issue, and usually involves a session of ‘The Wunan Game’, developed in-house as an experimental training tool for Board members.
Use of visual tools for different language groups
Sunrise Health Service - finalist, 2005 IGA
Sunrise Health Service has put considerable resources into developing visual information such as information posters to ensure Board members are making informed decisions based on clear information. They have worked with Little Fish Pangaea Pty Ltd to put together a governance training program which addresses issues such as separation of functions, conflict of interest and legislative requirements. They also use the Money $tory, a visual tool to help Board members understand the financial management of the organisation.
Warlayirti Artists Aboriginal Corporation
Warlayirti Artists Aboriginal Corporation has developed visual tools as part of its governance training program to convey information to committee members in the local language. In addition, the committee is developing a visual strategic plan or vision for the organisation which will be accessible to its members and will assist in reviewing progress of activities
There is strong evidence showing that successful organisations are those that invest in their staff members by providing appropriate training and development opportunities. The need for such training and development is particularly important in some Aboriginal communities where there can be a shortage of local people skilled in particular areas. While formalised training can be expensive, there are things that smaller, less well resourced organisations can do to train up their staff members.
Here are examples of things happening around Australia:
Central Australian Aboriginal Congress - finalist IGA 2005
CAAC has a comprehensive staff development program comprising four levels: (1) induction and orientation, (2) minimum training requirements (including occupational health and safety) with support leading to accreditation, (3) training for updating and enhancing skills and knowledge, and (4) career development, including leadership. The Congress training officer works with management, staff and training providers on the implementation of the plan.
Goldfields Land and Sea Council - finalist IGA 2005
GLSC staff are encouraged to participate in seminars, workshops and training courses designed to increase their knowledge and skills, and an ongoing program of training and professional development is in place. GLSC has partnered government agencies including TAFE and the WA Department of Conservation and Land Management to provide ongoing vocational training programs and internal courses including Strategic Planning, Land Management workshops, corporate governance, capacity building, committee corporate responsibilities, project planning, IT and mentoring. They also participate in the National Indigenous Cadetship program which provides vacation employment for two university students.
Koorie Heritage Trust - winner IGA 2005
Koorie Heritage Trust has a history of employing trainees and developing their skills through mentoring by Elders, and staff are given opportunities to attend workshops, courses and seminars. The Board of Management also has a program for succession planning which involves developing people’s skills to take senior roles within the organisation.
Sunrise Health Service - finalist IGA 2005
Sunrise Health Service has a strong leadership and training focus for Board members, staff and the community. All Indigenous staff have a training plan and are encouraged to assume more organisational responsibility. There is also a community based worker recruitment plan that requires no prior skills but provides on the job training for unskilled community workers. Their financial and governance training programs also extend to include other service providers in the community, particularly through their partnership with the Fred Hollows Foundation.
Wunan Foundation
Wunan Foundation conducts weekly informal discussion groups called the ‘Future Leaders Forum’ which includes staff, management, trainees and business partner organisations. It also runs an Indigenous management cadetship program to provide vocational pathways for local people.
Yorganup Child Care
Yorganup has a staff training and development plan which is produced annually. They are registered as a training organisation and have developed a training package for their carers, Certificate III in Childcare in Aboriginal Communities.
The need for succession planning in Indigenous communities is extremely important, particularly as 60 per cent of the Aboriginal population are aged under 25 years. There are many examples of excellent practice by Indigenous organisations in identifying and training future leaders within the community.
Check them out below:
Brisbane Indigenous Media Association
The development of future leaders is one of the key focuses of BIMA which oversees the operation of 4 Triple A Training, which has a media focus and involves empowering young people, many of whom are unemployed or at risk, by teaching communication skills and self-confidence and providing experience working in a professional team environment. They plan to expand this training to include face-to-face and virtual training for Indigenous people in regional and remote communities.
Geraldton Streetwork
Geraldton Streetwork has an Indigenous youth council, which aims to instil leadership and role model qualities in young people through the opportunity to gain training, attend workshops, forums and conferences. Members develop skills through the organisation’s community events, by representing the Indigenous youth of Geraldton and attending training camps.
Kari Aboriginal Resources Incorporated
Kari Aboriginal Resources operates the ‘Enrichment Program: Youth Transitions� which offers 15 annual, ongoing scholarships to Indigenous Year 11-12 high school students in southwest Sydney who are doing well and trying hard to achieve. Students under this program are also offered ongoing support and mentoring.
Tangentyere Council
Tangentyere Council actively encourages young people to nominate for positions on their Executive committees, where experienced committee members mentor them.
Tiwi Island Local Government - finalist, 2005 IGA
Through its Tiwi youth development unit, TILG is developing a Tiwi youth council comprising two young adults from each of the four skin groups on the two islands. In this way, young people are provided with the opportunity to have a say in the future developments of their communities through a voice in local affairs.
Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre
Wangka Maya engages young people to become members of the management committee, sometimes in shadowing roles which allow them to learn and then move into leadership positions when they are confident, prepared and ready.