Research Development and Implementation

The practice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research has been widely questioned, criticised and debated. Researchers need to build cultural values and approaches into their processes and ensure their research is informed by and implemented in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities with whom they work. To facilitate this process, the Lowitja Institute brings together researchers with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, community members, government and others to identify areas where targeted research may be able to make a real difference. 

The Lowitja Institute’s way of developing research is very different from traditional approaches. All of the research we support is focused on priorities identified by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people involved from the earliest planning stages right through to the end of the research itself. We call this ‘ground-up’ research methodology the Facilitated Development Approach (FDA). Our predecessor, the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health (CRCAH) developed the FDA to prioritise and develop new research projects within its strategic research programs.

The CRC for Aboriginal and Tropical Health (CRCATH, 1997–2003), carried out a significant body of work, which helped to consolidate and articulate what had been a long history of reforms to improve the usefulness of research to Aboriginal people, known as the Indigenous Research Reform Agenda (IRRA). The IRRA encompasses a broad platform of activity, which includes Indigenous health reform. The issues listed below were noted by Humphrey (2001) as critical to the development of Indigenous health reform, and were recognised by the CRCAH as significant to the broader Indigenous Research Reform Agenda.

Related resources:

• Indigenous Research Reform Agenda (IRRA)
• Facilitated Development Approach (FDA)
• Research roundtables and workshops

Current projects

• Engaging Australia’s First Peoples in the development of ethics and protocols for a family-based microbiome study and social health history project

Completed projects

• Funding, accountability and results for Aboriginal health services – Closing the policy implementation gap? (FAR project)
• Implementation of innovations in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
• Creating healthy environments: Development and trial of an integrated model for Aboriginal health promotion and its evaluation
• Models of rapid synthesis – Australian Aboriginal health search portal (LIt.search)
• Looking for practical solutions to quality assessment processes for grant and publication review in Aboriginal health

Publications

• Brands, J. 2014, The Shape of Things to Come: Visions for the future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research, The Lowitja Institute, Melbourne
• CRC for Aboriginal Health 2004, An Integrated Programmatic Approach to the CRCAH's Research and Development Activities, CRCAH, Darwin
• Dunbar, T., Arnott. A., Scrimgeour, M., Henry, J. & Murakami-Gold, L. 2004, CRCATH 1997–2002: Working towards change in Indigenous health research, CRCAH, Darwin
• Kowal, E. & Anderson, I. 2012, Genetic Research in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities: Continuing the Conversation, Discussion Paper, The Lowitja Institute, Melbourne
• Kowal, E., Rouhani, L. & Anderson, I.  2011, Genetic Research in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities: Beginning the conversation, Discussion Paper, The Lowitja Institute, Melbourne
• Laycock, A. with D. Walker, N. Harrison & J. Brands 2011, Researching Indigenous Health: A Practical Guide for Researchers, The Lowitja Institute, Melbourne
• Laycock, A. with D. Walker, N. Harrison & J. Brands 2009, Supporting Indigenous Researchers: A Practical Guide for Supervisors, CRCAH, Darwin
• Mayo, K., Tsey, K. & the Empowerment Research Team 2009, Research Dancing: Reflections on the Relationships between University-based Researchers and Community-based Researchers at Gurriny Yealamucka Health Services Aboriginal Corporation, Yarrabah, CRCAH Discussion Paper No. 8, CRCAH, Darwin
• Street, J., Baum, F. & Anderson, I. 2008, Making Research Relevant: Grant Assessment Processes in Indigenous Research, CRCAH Discussion Paper No. 3, CRCAH, Darwin