Building evaluation capacity for Aboriginal programs

Leaders from Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) together with The Sax Institute’s Aboriginal Health team shared insights on strengthening evaluation capacity at the 2025 Preventive Health Conference.

The workshop, “Embedding Evaluation Capacity in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services”, was facilitated by Jamie Newman, CEO of Orange Aboriginal Medical Service, along with Amber Baker, Social Emotional and Wellbeing Manager of Tharawal Aboriginal Medical Service, and Dr Tiffany Sandell, Evaluation Fellow from the Sax Institute. The workshop was attended by researchers, program managers and other experts in preventive and Aboriginal health.  

The event shared findings from Indigenous-led Evaluations of Aboriginal Programs (ILEAP), a four-year project run by The Sax Institute and three Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS), which is finishing in May, 2025.

Dr Scott Winch, Head of Aboriginal Health at the Sax Institute, said the event marked the significance of ILEAP. “ILEAP has created the foundations for ongoing innovation in Aboriginal-led health services. We are proud to share these learnings that will support increased evaluation capabilities in ACCHS leading to better health outcomes for Aboriginal people.”

ILEAPs’ aim is to enhance the capacity of ACCHSs to design and undertake real-world evaluations, and to create a much-needed evidence base for ACCHS-designed programs. Evaluation capacity was strengthened through staff training, mentoring a dedicated team member, and fostering organisational expertise in evaluation processes. ILEAP was funded by the Medical Research Future Fund.

The three ACCHSs involved with ILEAP run programs in critical health areas:

• Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation’s Social and Emotional Wellbeing Service, supporting mental health, social connection, and cultural wellbeing
• Orange Aboriginal Medical Service’s Wraparound Care Model, which coordinates holistic care for chronic disease clients
• Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service’s Physical Activity and Nutrition Initiatives, supporting health and wellbeing

The presentations focused on the process of building evaluation capacity through ILEAP. Jamie Newman spoke about the power of Indigenous-led evaluation to drive meaningful change. Amber Baker provided a case study from Tharawal Aboriginal Medical Service on the importance of co-design and ownership of data. A pre-recorded presentation from Carmel Crook, Senior Qualitative Researcher at The Sax Institute, outlined the factors that support growth in evaluation capacity in Aboriginal settings, such as respectful partnerships and organisational readiness.

There were also reflections shared by team members at ACCHSs, as well as insights from Janice Nixon and Jemita Smith from the Sax Institute’s Aboriginal Health team.   

A workshop followed, where participants were invited to brainstorm their ‘dream toolkit’ for embedding evaluation in their own services. The conversations were reflective and energising, with experiences shared from cancer screening, maternity services, and Aboriginal settings cross the country.

The Preventive Health Conference, hosted by the Public Health Association of Australia, is a key annual event in public health. It’s attended by leaders in research, policy and service delivery to discuss pivotal issues for building prevention in Australia. The conference is supported by The Prevention Centre, a centre of The Sax Institute.

The Sax Institute has worked in partnership with Aboriginal communities for more than 20 years. Find out more about ILEAP and other Aboriginal-led projects supported by the Sax Institute.