Congratulations to our 2025 Seeding Grant recipients
We are delighted to announce the recipient organisations of 2025 Lowitja Institute Seeding Grants.
Five organisations have been awarded in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Grant stream. This stream has been curated for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled organisations who may or may not have led research before, but have the resources and relationships to bring together key stakeholders to develop their own research proposal to submit to a major grant program. Funding of up to $35,000 is available in this stream.
We look forward to working closely with the following organisations to progress research projects that will make a vital contribution to improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing.
Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-operative
Project title: Fostering connection and wellbeing: Increasing Community participation opportunities at BDAC
This project explores a priority expressed by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people living on Dja Dja Wurrung Country in Bendigo for greater involvement in supporting their community through BDAC. Community members consistently report that their health and wellbeing are strengthened when they can contribute to their community through BDAC, as active contributors rather than solely as service users. More recently, Community have also shared that changes in service delivery structures have reduced opportunities for community-led and -driven ways to support one another.
As an Aboriginal community controlled organisation (ACCO), Community ownership, leadership, and participation is at the heart of BDAC and who it is, with a strong history of Community supporting one another. A major strength of BDAC’s delivery of holistic health care is the commitment of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander staff, many of whom are also community members. This raises important considerations when exploring increased Community participation, particularly concerning confidentiality, boundaries between paid and unpaid roles, and recognising and remunerating lived experience and cultural knowledge.
Through the Lowitja Institute Seeding Grant, BDAC will work alongside Community to design a project for the development and piloting of a model that strengthens opportunities for Community involvement, using an Aboriginal Participatory Action Research approach. BDAC will learn from other community-based organisations and their approaches to developing and supporting volunteers to design an approach that is the best fit for its local community.
Central Land Council
Project title: Lajamanu Good Life Study (Ngurruju Ngurra Parlka Kulu) – Knowledge Translation for Yapa-Led Change in Lajamanu
The project aims to support Warlpiri Aboriginal people (Yapa) in Lajamanu to use their own stories and data to make positive change towards a ‘good life’ in their community. After five years of participatory research defining and tracking a good life in Lajamanu, the community seek to translate this knowledge into action that could lead to more substantial positive change. The next step is developing a data dashboard, grounded in Indigenous Data Sovereignty, to ensure both Yapa ownership and control of wellbeing data and timely access to processed forms of this data to identified stakeholders. This dashboard will provide an evidence base for the design, delivery of, and advocacy for, programs, services and policies that strengthen wellbeing in Lajamanu. The Seeding Grant will fund fieldwork to develop the project plan for the data dashboard project which will then be submitted as a research proposal to the Lowitja Major Research Grant round in 2026.
First Nations Response
Project title: The Solidarity Hub
The Solidarity Hub represents the next phase of First Nations Response (FNR)’s evaluation and research strategy. Building on its commitment to ‘solidarity not charity’ and the foundations of a community-led evaluation approach, the Hub will create a vibrant, community-driven research space that amplifies the voices, priorities, and lived experiences of First Nations peoples.
At its core, the Hub seeks to empower grassroots community researchers, ensuring that research initiatives are not only reflective of community priorities but also deeply rooted in cultural values and local realities. This focus on grassroots leadership is vital to fostering authentic, place-based research that responds to the unique challenges and aspirations of our communities. The Solidarity Hub will serve as an incubator of ideas, cultivating a supportive environment where community members can actively participate in research activities, share insights, and collaborate on projects that matter to them. Through initiatives such as yarning circles, co-design workshops, Group Model Building (GMB) workshops, and advisory groups, the Hub will facilitate meaningful dialogue and collaboration between community, researchers, and stakeholders. This inclusive and participatory process will identify key issues, generate research agendas, and drive culturally safe and relevant outcomes.
By embedding research into the core functions of FNR, the Hub will strengthen existing programs, inform the design of new initiatives, and build capacity for community-led inquiry. The result will be research that is evidence-based, culturally grounded, and transformative – advancing food security, health equity, resilience, and self-determination for First Nations communities. Ultimately, the Solidarity Hub will act as both a platform for community voice and a catalyst for systemic change, enhancing the quality of research while fostering a strong sense of ownership and pride in the outcomes.
Inala Wangarra
Project title: Power in our Postcode
Power in our Postcode will explore the central question: over its 20 years, what impact has Inala Wangarra had in its local community, and, how has it been shaped by local community to transform systems and make a difference in its people and place?
This question reflects a profound shift in the organisation’s approach. In its 20th year, it has undertaken a significant change in how it defines itself, its community and its future by shifting from a community development approach to First Nations community impact. This involves focusing on culture, place and gathering as more important than solving problems created and defined by governments and big non-for-profits. We consider our impact to be driven by love, care and community, not KPIs and outputs. We centre our community as knowledge holders and catalysts for locally-led change, rather than passive participants. We are interested in self-determination that is real and place-based, not something defined by governments and academics. Power in our Postcode marks an important opportunity to engage with our community to reflect this change. It will assist in affirming our identity, our approach, and defining our model of difference. In a series of community storytelling days, researchers will capture reflections from Elders, project participants, past and current staff and community partners. These stories will be developed into a short film on community impact alongside shorter clips on key themes. We have chosen these outputs for their accessibility and ability to be shared ongoing for maximum engagement among our community, as well as potential funders and anyone interested in our approach to community control. The project will conclude with a community screening of the short film to celebrate the work, stories and impact of Inala Wangarra.
Nairm Marr Djambana
Project title: Co-creating an Evidence-based Evaluation Framework for an Aboriginal gathering place in South-Eastern Melbourne/Kulin Nations, Narrm, Victoria
Nairm Marr Djambana is a self-determining Aboriginal community organisation on Bunurong/Boon Wurrung Country, Frankston, Victoria. It is a Gathering Place and Neighbourhood House for First Nations people in the Frankston area and an Associate Member of VACCHO. Since 2016, it has worked to empower the fast-growing local First Nations community, improve holistic wellbeing, celebrate cultural heritage, and foster self-determination. It actively engages with its community, preserving its traditions, and nurturing the inherent strengths in each individual.
The organisation is unapologetically committed to closing the gap by improving health and wellbeing outcomes and amplifying the voices of our community through a strength-based approach. It fosters a holistic wrap-around approach to wellbeing, grounded in community aspirations, empowerment, and Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing, weaving a storyline of cultural pride, resilience, and self-determination for generations to come. Through its accessible and culturally sensitive services, Nairm Marr Djambana aims to improve overall quality of life and create a balanced sense of wellbeing. These include women’s and children’s programs, men’s groups, youth engagement, social and emotional wellbeing support, integrated team care, and cultural engagement activities.
Strong community engagement and positive feedback about the gathering place and our programs suggest Nairm Marr Djambana is having a positive impact on the health and wellbeing in our community; however, it has no comprehensive organisational evaluation strategy to demonstrate or formalise this impact. Rigorous evaluation is critical for enabling continuous quality improvement, funding sustainability and more broadly, to disseminate effective community-led strategies for improving social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This grant will support the organisation to bring together key stakeholders and partners to develop a research plan and prepare a major grant proposal to co-create and pilot an evidenced-based evaluation framework.
