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Megan Williams (Western Sydney University), Ilse Blignault (Western Sydney University, )

This presentation details an evaluation framework developed by Aboriginal practitioners and scholars - Ngaa-bi-nya. Few purposefully-designed evaluation frameworks exist from Indigenous people's worldviews, or which take into account the holistic meaning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' wellbeing and the historical and social context in which it is experienced.

The Ngaa-bi-nya framework is a culturally-sensitive and flexible evaluation guide. It builds on Stufflebeam's Context, Input, Products and Processes (CIPP) model, and is presented with complementary data collection tools including a Critical Success Factors checklist distilled through case studies with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners and services.

This short paper demonstrates application of the Ngaa-bi-nya framework in evaluating health and social programs with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, illustrating the ways in which it prompts the user to investigate four key dimensions: contextual Landscape factors, culturally sensitive Ways of Working, critical Resourcing issues, and outcomes-oriented Learnings. It describes findings from two program evaluations in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services, along with insights from evaluation planning related to a cross-sectoral program in a large mainstream organisational setting.

Application of the Ngaa-bi-nya evaluation framework stimulates reflection on concepts that are vital to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's health and wellbeing, such as human rights, empowerment at individual, family, community and organisational levels, and accountability in policy and programs.