Building Aboriginal and Torres Strait Governance: Report of Survey and Forum to Map current and future research and practical resource needs

Over the last 15 years Indigenous governance has become a familiar feature of political, policy and organisational landscape internationally. In Australia it is now part of the local, regional and national policy agendas of Indigenous peoples, governments and the private sector. It is a central concern when addressing service delivery, funding frameworks and agreement-making in rural, remote and urban locations across a wide variety of sectors. Indigenous peoples widely recognise the significance of governance as a critical factor in promoting sustainable economic activity, self-determination and cultural resilience and as a fundamental base for generating revenues and resources. A small but growing number of research projects and governance building initiatives are contributing to a baseline of robust evidence and analyses of what works, what doesnt work and why. In some cases this work is being translated into practical tools. However, the opportunities to learn about the scope of contemporary research and Indigenous governance-building resources, consider strategic priorities, build collaborations and evaluate the usefulness of initiatives are often limited. In the process of planning their own Indigenous governance work, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute (AIGI) identified the need to understand the scope and limitations of current Indigenous governance initiatives, research, practical resources and policy, not only for the benefit of their own organisations but also the broader sector.