Indigenous Evaluation and Audience Research

• Introduction
• Overview of Indigenous Issues in Museums
• Projects
• Indigenous Statistics
• Resources

Introduction

AMARC has expertise in evaluating Indigenous programs through working on the Indigenous Australians exhibition, commercial consultancies and research projects. AMARC works closely with staff from the Australian Museum Aboriginal Heritage Unit in evaluating their range of outreach and other programs. Through this expertise AMARC and the Aboriginal Heritage Unit have an extensive knowledge about and understandings of evaluation and Indigenous communities.

Overview of Indigenous Issues in Museums

For a review of Indigenous issues in museums and the Australian experience see Kelly, L. and Gordon, P. (2002). Developing a Community of Practice: Museums and Reconciliation in Australia. in Sandell, R. (ed.) Museums , Society, Inequality. London: Routledge (pp153-174).

This article outlines issues for museums in promoting reconciliation in Australia and the roles that they have played and continue to play, as agents for social change and inclusion through public learning and working with Indigenous communities. A number of audience research and evaluation projects are discussed that show the difference museums can make in the reconciliation process and the consequences for future practice and social change, with a specific focus on the Australian Museum, Sydney. It is proposed that the process by which Australian museums have built working relationships and shared understandings with Indigenous people, particularly at the practitioner level, could form a template for how museums deal with other issues and make themselves relevant to the broader community through active engagement with multiple communities of practice.

• For more information about this book see the Department of Museum Studies, Leicester University website
  http://www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies/index.html

Projects

• Evaluation of Aboriginal Heritage Unit 1998 Workshop
• Evaluation of Aboriginal Heritage Unit 1999 Workshop (PDF 186k)
• Evaluation of Indigenous Australians Exhibition, 1998
• Evaluation of Previous Possessions, New Obligations Museums Australia Policy, 2000
• Evaluation of Aboriginal Heritage Unit 2001 Workshop on Policy
• Indigenous Youth Access Project, 2002
• Feasibility Study - Cairns Regional Museum, 2001
• Feasibility Study - Townsville Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Cultural Centre, 2002

Indigenous Statistics

The National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Statistics (NCATSIS) is located in the Darwin office of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and has national responsibility for quality statistics relating to Australia's Indigenous peoples. The Centre also provides expert advice to government departments, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, and other users of Indigenous statistics, particularly those concerned with population, health and welfare.

• The Population Special Article - A Profile of Australia's Indigenous People (1996) summarises statistical information about Indigenous people in Australia
  http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/
  94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/
  368968084ca747b2ca2569de002139c0!OpenDocument

Resources

The following papers and resource lists have been developed from studies conducted by AMARC and the Aboriginal Heritage Unit.

• Overview of Indigenous Issues in Evaluation, 1997 (PDF 94k)
• Policy, Practice and Partnerships: Museums, Indigenous Communities and Evaluation 2001 Conference Paper (PDF 112k)
• Indigenous Evaluation Resources (PDF 84k)
• Evaluation and Indigenous Communities: Many Ways Forward 2002 Conference paper (PDF 170K)

Indigenous Evaluation documents are only available in PDF format. The FREE Acrobat Reader is required. If you have trouble accessing the PDFs on this page, please email Lynda Kelly.