UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business

1. UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business Working with Complexity Community Engagement and the Murdi Paaki COAG Trial 2002-2007 Professor Jenny Stewart Dr Wendy Jarvie, Visiting Professor Seminar for the Social Policy Research Centre 31 May 2011

2. Research Question UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business What does the MurdiPaaki experience tell us about the opportunities and constraints of community engagement and whole-of-government as indigenous development strategies? SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

3. The COAG Trials 2003-2007 UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business SPRC UNSW 31 May 2011

4. The MurdiPaaki Region UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business • South American enrolments against target 2005 • South American enrolments by priority country • Other achievements 2005 • Planned activity Jan-June 2006 • Strategic Plan 2006-2008 • Focus and planned activity 2006-2007 SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

5. Working Differently UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business • Communities and governments as partners • Communities identified their priorities • Governments negotiated action with communities. Simple and straightforward . . SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

6. What works (in relation to community engagement • in indigenous field)? • No simple answer: some elements from the case-based literature • good governance (SCRGSP 2007) • community involvement (SCRGSP 2007) • personal relationships and links, fostering of trust (Kingsley et al 2008) • adapting processes and structures to relationships (Hunt and Smith 2006) • More contested • role of whole of government (see Humpage 2005) • Humpage, L 2005, Experimenting with a ‘Whole of Government’ Approach: Indigenous • Capacity Building in New Zealand and Australia, Policy Studies, Vol 26, No 1: 47-66 • Hunt, J. and Smith, D E (2006) Building indigenous community governance in Australia: preliminary research findings, CAEPR Working Paper No. 31, Canberra: CAEPR, ANU. • Kingsley, J., Aldous, D., Townsend, M. and Phillips, R. (2008) ‘Building collaborative partnerships: a key to increasing indigenous Victorian people’s access to country’, Just Policy no.48, June, 32-41. • SCRGSP (Steering committee for the review of government service provision) 2007 Overcoming indigenous disadvantage, Canberra: Productivity Commission SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

7. Methodology UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business • Combined regional and community-based evaluative perspective - extensive interviews with public servants, facilitators and Aboriginal community leaders and community members • Multi-case (comparative method) • Four case studies: Bourke, Brewarrina, Walgett and Wilcannia • from NW sector of MurdiPaaki • divergent outcomes (Bourke and Bre seemed to achieve more successful outcomes than Walgett and Wilcannia) SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

8. The MurdiPaaki Region - the players UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business • 16 communities, 16 community working parties, chairs, secretariats . . . • MurdiPaaki Regional Assembly • Lead govt agencies: DEST and DET • Governments and agencies. Australian govt: FACHSIA, DOHA, AGs. NSW: DAA, DOCs, Health, Police, etc. Local Government: 8 councils • Other bodies: Aboriginal Land Councils, Barwon Darling Alliance, Chambers of Commerce, Aboriginal organisations: medical services, CDEPs, MPREC . . . . SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

9. The MurdiPaaki Region - the issues UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business • Regional issues: culture and heritage, education, employment, health, crime, youth, governance, community capacity and leadership. AIR CONDITIONING! • Community specific issues • Bourke: Yamma festival, early childhood education • Enngonia: Oval • Collarenebri: Cemetery • Brewarrina: Aboriginal controlled organisations, aged care SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

10. The MurdiPaaki Region - the issues Support for Aboriginal Communities UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business • Each community • Community Working Party – a single community interface with government • Community Action Plan • Secretariat and IT support • Facilitator – who were employed by the community to help them set priorities and deal with government • Mentoring, governance training • MurdiParki Regional Assembly • Support for Assembly to operate • Governance workshops every 6 months (8 in total) • Young Leaders Project • Evaluation design SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

11. Bureaucratic complexity: MURDI PAAKI government structures 2006 Murdi Paaki Communities Community Working Parties MPRA ACTION TEAM Made up of representatives of DEST, NSW DET and DAA. In Dubbo. Australian Government State Managers Group Aust. Govt NSW State Managers DOHA MURDI PAAKI REGIONAL PROJECT GROUP – 4 subgroups. Govt agencies and community Fachsia DET DAA Regional Coordination Management Group (NSW) Etc MURDI PAAKI STEERING COMMITTEE Made up of representatives of MP Regional Assembly, DEST, NSW DET, NSW DAA and OIPC DEST’s MP Coordination Group Action team DOCS etc State Manager Indig group CHAMPIONS Ms Lisa Paul, Secretary DEST Mr Andrew Cappie-Wood, DG NSW DET etc School grp SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

12. Difficulties • Commonwealth - NSW trust - took two years • Changed Commonwealth government policies and philosophy – away from consensus to direct action • Abolition of ATSIC • Mainstreaming of Indigenous service delivery • Establishment of ICCs - confused responsibilities, turf war • Community dysfunction - paralysis • Resources required: staff, funding • Slow progress – action plans, marshalling resources – Aboriginal, government and bureaucratic impatience • FIVE YEARS NOT LONG ENOUGH SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

13. Achievements: Outcomes • Education, Health, Crime • Education and Health departments “ran with” the opportunity • Learn to Read program: Literacy and numeracy improvements greater than for other parts of NSW • Year 11/12 retention up, Tafe enrolments up • Crime down – assaults, break-ins, theft • Drug and Alcohol network – set up (DOHA and NSW Health) SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

14. Achievements • Governance capacity. Confidence of Aboriginal leadership, their visibility eg in Cobar. Young leaders project • Local successes – air conditioning, night patrol, Bre Business Centre, circle sentencing • Post-trial: action on cultural priorities: Colly cemetery, Bre Fish traps • Local govt, business and police – sustaining their engagement with CWPs in some towns – alcohol accords • Facilitators – value was recognised and became DAA partnership officers SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

15. But a very mixed picture across communities • Some towns have done well • Bourke and Brewarrina – moving ahead. New businesses, more employment • “things are better than 10 years ago” Some towns aren’t doing so well Walgett and Wilcannia “Walgett has gone backwards” SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

16. Walgett – still locked up at night UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

17. Brewarrina moving ahead - Fish Traps UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

18. Phil Sullivan Chair of Bourke CWP 2002-2006 SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

19. Understanding outcomes: Government UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business • Energised public servants – in Departments with top down support and flexible ways of working (health and education). Sense of excitement and opportunity. • Strong leadership, retaining commitment to aims and new ways of working • Action Team on the ground, committed to continuous engagement, negotiation, open communication • Flexible funding SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

20. Understanding outcomes: Community UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business • Towns that did the best • Effective Leadership – that understood the opportunities and could bring community along • Good support – excellent facilitators • Doable action plans - modest projects to build trust and confidence in dealing with government • Local government involvement – the deeper the relationship the better SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

21. Critical Factors UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business “Good Enough” governance – at community level Leadership – in government and communities Regional Aboriginal leadership - MPRA SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

22. Implications for Public Administration UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business • Complexity is ubiquitous • Complexity requires flexible responses • But this way of working does not sit well with hard-and-fast goals, measurement and monitoring • Engaging with communities brings forward their priorities • Outcomes are variable, and hard to predict • The work is intense, and transaction-intensive • The approach is difficult to sell! SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

23. Ongoing Research UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business • Shepparton – field trip completed, interviews nearly complete • MP – go back to MPRA and present findings • Paper drawing from both trials. SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

24. UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business • THANK YOU SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011

25. Interview Questions UNIVERSITY OF NSW@ADFA School of Business • What was it like before the trial? • What changed as part of the trial? • Government departments? • What was useful? What wasn’t? • CWPs, community action plans? Action team? SRAs? Facilitators? Projects? • What’s kept going? • What’s different now? SPRC Seminar 31 May 2011