Aboriginal issues need Aboriginal-led solutions, with research led by our community.
Wungening’s award-winning* Research and Evaluation team is responsible for fostering stronger connections with our community and Elders.
We also aim to bridge the gap between research and practice. We do this by gathering, synthesising and sharing Aboriginal knowledge to inform Wungening’s services and programs.
What our Research & Evaluation team do
In short, our team increases Wungening’s capacity to fulfil its goals of immersing in culturally responsive research; establishing a culturally sensitive evidence base by embedding Aboriginal-led evaluation within programs; and in the long term, understanding Wungening’s impact in the community.
The team work alongside Wungening’s other programs to develop outcome frameworks that reflect what is meaningful, as well as what matters to the clients and people with lived experience in the community.
These frameworks help ensure our programs deliver the best service and are linked to the six impact themes of Wungening’s Impact Measurement Framework: Relationships, Connections, Growth, Healing, Safety and Empowerment.
We are proud that our Impact Measurement Framework was collaboratively created with clients, staff, the community and Elders.
Through our research activities, we also collaborate with universities and other research bodies to build learning and insight, with the goal of ‘wungening nalungh kungyah’ (healing our spirit). In recent years, Wungening has been involved in dozens of research partnerships in the areas of alcohol and other drugs (AOD), family and domestic violence (FDV), families, justice, mental health, homelessness, and LGBTQIA+.
To get in touch, please email: redata@wungening.com.au
Our Birdiya Maya (Voice of the Elders) Homelessness Research project was recognised nationally by being awarded the Lowitja Institute’s Tarrn Doon Nonin Award. Tarrn Doon Nonin is the Woiwurrung term for ‘trust’. This award recognises an ACCO-led research project that is conducted to an exemplary standard in line with Aboriginal ethical principles and practices.
