Share benefits and apply two-way learning
Community transformation principle
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples involved in, or affected by, evaluation should benefit from the evaluation project and not be disadvantaged by it.
Application
□ Evaluation must drive and support positive transformation for and of communities.
□ All data and reports produced in relation to the evaluation must be made available for the use of communities.
□ Data must be relevant to the community and empower sustainable self-determination and effective self-governance.
Community priorities principle
Evaluation must reflect the priorities of the community.
Application
□ In addition to the evaluation purpose provided by the commissioner, ensure that the community’s purpose for the evaluation is included. Consider both equally important.
□ Ensure that community members are involved in the meta-evaluation, analysis and interpretation of results. This will ensure community priorities are not over-looked at key stages of the evaluation process.
□ Consider how an evaluation report can equip communities to better advocate and influence for community self-determination.
□ Community standards and criteria matter. When determining what ‘success looks like’, develop the standards and metrics in partnership with community as well as the commissioner.
□ Work closely with the community to develop the recommendations of the report.
Strengthen capacity principle
Evaluation must strengthen capacity and capability for decision making and voluntary actions of participants and the communities in which they live.
Application
□ Determine whether there are community members who can assist with conducting the evaluation, or who have been involved in evaluations before. Include their salary in your budget.
□ Prior to evaluation commencement negotiate with community ways in which the evaluation could consider capacity strengthening methods such as: mentoring, community of practice, peer coaching, supervised practice in teams, reflective practice and learning circle. Include these in your budget from the start.
□ Consider recommendations in the report that will support capacity building and voluntary actions within the project or program being evaluated.
Share results principle
Evaluation results must be presented and available to communities in a form that is translatable to community needs.
Application
□ In conjunction with your evaluation commissioner, consider community members as the equal primary intended user of the evaluation.
□ Discuss with community members how the findings of the data could be presented visually or through other relevant forms e.g. artistic expressions.
□ Formalise at the start of the evaluation how the community will be presented the data for the evaluation. Consider several feedback sessions through the data analysis process.
□ Ensure that the report is available to the community for its own use and support them to make use of it. This may include providing the data in different formats. Ensure this requirement is included in the evaluation budget and approved by the commissioner.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge and thank Maria Stephens, an Arrabi/Binning woman who speaks the Iwaidja language. She generously provided her artwork for this page.