Evaluation approaches that support self-determination of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples
Channel: Australian Evaluation Society
Date: 2021-11-26

2021 AES Awards for Excellence in Evaluation recipients Ruth McCausland, Simon Jordan from ARTD and Dr Tiffany McComsey from KBHAC have a fireside chat with Skye Trudgett about theoretical and practical approaches to Aboriginal evaluation and capacity building work, considering the questions:
• How could evaluation better serve the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
• What does Aboriginal-led co-design and capacity building look like in practice?

We invite you to read:
• Ruth’s award-winning EJA article "‘I’m sorry but I can’t take a photo of someone’s capacity being built’: Reflections on evaluation of Indigenous policy and programmes”, from the Evaluation Journal of Australasia Vol 19, Issue 2, 2019: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1035719X19848529. AES members can access this via the AES website: https://www.aes.asn.au/eja
• ARTD and KBHAC’s award winning Practice Framework (https://kinchelaboyshome.org.au/kinchela-boys-home-aboriginal-corporation/publications/)
Submit questions prior to the workshop by emailing  or 
For information on the AES Awards for Excellence in Evaluation and 2021 awards recipients go to https://www.aes.asn.au/aes-awards


Dr Ruth McCausland is Research and Evaluation Director for the Yuwaya Ngarra-li partnership between UNSW and the Dharriwaa Elders Group, Walgett. A non-Indigenous researcher and evaluator, Ruth has worked over the past 25 years in the fields of criminology, human rights and community development. Ruth has also undertaken research on the methods, politics and accountability around government-commissioned evaluation in Indigenous policy, and how evaluation can better serve the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Simon Jordan is a Bundjalung man and the Director of Aboriginal Partnerships and Projects at ARTD. He has many years of experience working with Aboriginal people and communities, particularly in service and program development. Simon is also skilled in evaluation, policy development and analysis and program management, and is widely acknowledged for his ability to bring Aboriginal perspectives to these. Simon and the ARTD team have worked with KBHAC CEO Dr Tiffany McComsey and KBHAC staff and Stolen Generation survivors to develop an outcomes framework to map KBHAC’s programs and services. The framework recognises that Aboriginal people and survivors are best placed to develop the healing frameworks to address the effects of the multigenerational trauma that adversely impacts on their lives. It is based on preliminary work that ARTD did with KBHAC in developing an outcomes framework to map KBHAC’s programs and services and identify intended outcomes and success measures of these programs and services for monitoring and evaluation purposes.
Dr Tiffany McComsey is the CEO of KBHAC, a Stolen Generations survivor-led Aboriginal organisation that was established by survivors of the Kinchela Boy Home. The organisation works with survivors, their families, descendants and the community to address multigenerational trauma, and restore and reconstruct their identity dignity and family structures.