Remote Wisdom

Innovation for remote Australia

and its relevance to policy Wednesday, 19 November 2014

Outline

1. Introduction to Ninti One Limited

2. New Managing Director

3. What is remote Australia and what does it

mean for mainstream Australia?

4. Ninti One’s innovative work

• Cooperative Research Centre for Remote

Economic Participation (CRC-REP)

• Other projects

5. The Future

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Ninti One also manages

the CRC for Remote

Economic Participation

and external

consultancy projects.

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1. Introducing Ninti One

Ninti One is a not-for-profit company that builds

opportunities for people in remote Australia through

research, innovation and community development.

2. What is remote Australia and what does it mean for

mainstream Australia?

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3. Ninti One’s work

4. Aboriginal Community Researchers

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This unique combination of Aboriginal

Community Researchers, matched with the

expertise of Ninti One Limited in delivering

community engagement projects across

remote Australia, represents a new model

for policy advice and future service

delivery.

5. The future for Ninti One

• The CRC program is under review

• Indigenous Advancement Strategy

• Other funding sources

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Pathways to Employment Project

Research Questions

• How do Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people who reside

in (very) remote communities navigate their way into meaningful

livelihoods?

• What kinds of work might help to support sustainable livelihood

outcomes?

• What kinds of learning could support meaningful livelihood

agendas, aspirations and pathways?

Engagement in the Economy = Good

GO TO SCHOOL EVERYDAY

GET CERTIFICATE III OR ABOVE

EMPLOYMENT

Microenterprise development as a pathway to livelihood

Key Stakeholder: ENTERPRISE LEARNING PROJECTS

Duration: 2012 – continuing

Methodology: Participatory action research using a range of

ethnographic methods of inquiry

Case Study 1

Explore Enterprise Project Facilitation

Develop Business incubation

Grow Marketing support services

• How do you support the development of enterprising cultures

not just enterprising Individuals?

• How do you overcome the many infrastructure and access

limitations experienced by very remote entrepreneurs?

Economic participation pathways for Anangu youth

Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands,

South Australia

Key Stakeholder: Umuwa Trade Training Centre

Duration: 2012- continuing

Methodology: to date - 16 semi-structured interviews (2013)

Case Study 2

Burton & Osborne (2014: pg) have asked,

Is it possible that an optimistic and hopeful “imagined future” for

Anangu youth looks different to the “externally imagined” linear menu

on offer in the Piranpa [non-Indigenous] education, training and

transition to employment context?

Prison learning experiences and employment aspirations

of inmates

Key Stakeholder: Northern Territory Department of Correctional

Services

Duration: 2013- 2014 (completed)

Methodology: 10 semi-structured interviews

Case Study 3

Aspiring beyond Reality

“Make you want to leave grog when you get out”

“The pain keep bouncing back. The old people gone now. We have

to drink to cover that sorrow, to hide it. Abusing our body the only

way – and then you think nobody loves us anymore and you can’t get

out”

How do Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people who

reside in (very) remote communities navigate their way into

meaningful livelihoods?

Guenther et al. (2011: 9);

…creating opportunities for

employment requires more than

successful completion of a Certificate…

it requires a shift in identity so that the

trainees values become more closely

aligned to the workplace… We may at

first cringe at the thought of training as

a vehicle for identity change but that is

what we are indeed doing in training.

Investment in Belonging

Family, Community, Country

Learning Experiences

Voluntary & Negotiated

Honesty in unpacking the magic of

mainstream

Building positive cultural sense of self

Building decision making capabilities

Recognising interdependence

Fostering not fragmenting local identity

Economic Participation

Identity investment in work and the economy

Family and community investment in the legitimacy of employment or economic activity

Re-imaging beyond large industries and (old) industrial models of work activity

Systemic Barriers?

The Indigenous Pathways Industry

Dominated by non-Indigenous beneficiaries

Possessive investment in ignorance (Gilbey 2014)

Burden of ‘paper work’ - no time to hear (Osborne 2014)

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For further information, please contact:

Eva McRae-Williams

Email – eva.mcrae-williams@nintione.com.au

Phone – (08) 8951-8300

Questions?

Remote Education Systems Project

Remote education: A ‘problem’ in search of solutions

• Numerous reviews and policy responses but little to show for the

effort and investment.

• Responses so far have focused on:

• English language, literacy and numeracy

• Compliance measures

• Attendance strategies

• Residential boarding schools

• More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers

• Teacher retention, recruitment, incentives

• Programmatic approaches to pedagogy (e.g. DI, AL)

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No significant change over 6 years

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-

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Attendance rates, very remote schools

-

100.00

200.00

300.00

400.00

500.00

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Year 5 numeracy results, very remote schools

-

50.00

100.00

150.00

200.00

250.00

300.00

350.00

400.00

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Year 3 reading results, very remote schools

Very remote schools with…

Up to 80% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

>80% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

RES project aim

To find out how remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

can get the best benefit from the teaching and learning happening in and

out of schools.

Research questions

• What is education for and what can/should it achieve?

• What defines ‘success’ from the remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander standpoint?

• How does teaching need to change to achieve ‘success’?

• What would an effective education system in remote Australia look

like?

Important focus

• Amplifying the voices of remote community stakeholders

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RES Project data sources

• Derived from analysis of publicly available datasets (my school

and Census)

• Community surveys in 10 remote communities

• Observations from site visits in 3 jurisdictions (WA, SA, NT)

• Engagement of over 190 remote education stakeholders in formal

qualitative research processes (20 Thinking Outside The Tank

sessions)

• Dare to Lead Snapshots in 31 Very Remote schools

• Reading of the relevant research literature

• 6 Post-graduate research projects in progress (topics include

technology, curriculum, health-wellbeing-interplay, year 12

completions, boarding schools)

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3 years in, here are some key learnings from RES

• Success isn’t necessarily what we think it is.

• Nor is the concept of ‘aspiration’.

• Local people often see these things differently from non-locals.

• Context complexity demands more than simplistic responses.

• Responses need to consider an advantageous education, rather than

focusing on ‘disadvantage’.

• Communities are strong influencers of educational outcomes.

• Pathways through school to economic participation are unclear.

• While early years learning matters, learning for teenagers and parents

also matters.

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An intentional strategy

• Education Departments, Independent and Catholic systems

• More than 900 stakeholders engaged

• Thinking Outside the Tank sessions: more than 190 engaged

• Community involvement and collaboration

• Academic writing (see http://crc-rep.com/remote-education-

systems/project-outputs)

• Dissemination (e.g. Garma)

Think differently

Talk differently

Respond differently

What do the findings suggest?

• Working with communities is essential.

• Strengthen local school governance.

• Investment in community development to complement investment

in schools.

• Recognise ‘success’ through alternative measures.

• Recognise the different ‘qualities’ of teachers needed for remotes.

• Build contextually relevant ‘red dirt curriculum’ which connects to

‘red dirt economies’.

• Offer a mix of local delivery and boarding options.

• Create knowledge exchange partnerships.

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Towards impact

• Connecting with current policy agendas (e.g. attendance,

boarding, community engagement, ‘teasing’)

• Filling evidence base gaps with a view to future trends (e.g.

‘Red Dirt Curriculum’, boarding schools)

• Engagement with university partners on quality teacher

preparation for remote contexts

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For further information, please contact:

John Guenther

Email – john.guenther@nintione.com.au

Phone – (08) 8959-6049

Questions?

Precision Pastoral Management Tools Project

Northern Beef Industry Analysis

• In the last decade (1998-2008)

• Costs have escalated

• Debt levels have doubled

• Returns on Assets have been only

0.3 - 2%

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• In 2013, no further improvement

• Poor business performance due to

poor herd productivity

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Research Questions • What new technologies can

assist the beef industry?

• Can we add technologies to the

RLMS to benefit producers?

• Can we build an integrated

decision-making tool?

• How much benefit is there for

beef producers in using this

tool?

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Benefits for beef producers

• Better matching of stocking rates to

available pasture

• Improved liveweight gain and calving rates

• Improved land condition

• Increased ability to make strategic

decisions

• Improved profitability

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How are we doing it?

1. Stakeholder consultations

2. Feasibility/Scoping Study

3. Prototype development

4. Business Plan

5. Focus Groups

6. Research & Demonstration Sites

7. Commercialisation

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Progress to date

• Stakeholder discussions

• Literature review of 62

technology products

• 35 shortlisted & 4 selected

• Human & Animal ethics

approval

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Progress to date

• Advisory committee appointed

• PPMS Prototype developed

• Business plan undertaken

• Student project

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Progress to date

• Developed our PPMS prototype

Progress to date

• Expressions of

Interest (n=25)

• First three sites

selected

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Current Research Sites

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Research Methodology

• Quantitative and qualitative

methodology

• Validation of technology products

• Business analysis and economic

evaluation

• On-going feedback and

development of PPMS

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How are the research sites going?

• “Tarrina”, Qld, drought &

destocking

• Newcastle Waters Station, NT,

well above average wet season

• Glenflorrie Station, WA, average

to above-average summer

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For further information, please contact:

Sally Leigo

Email – sally.leigo@nt.gov.au

Phone – 08 8951 8144

Questions?

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