First Nations Engagement and Participation
In 2023 Continence Health Australia developed its First Nations Engagement and Participation Strategy (the Strategy), in consultation with Indigenous Workforce Consulting, to inform better and more culturally appropriate engagement with First Nations communities. But in March 2024 Continence Health Australia was seeking guidance in developing an Operational Guide to empower staff to work with and confidently apply the Strategy.
Our Approach
With a focus towards the operationalisation of the Foundation’s First Nations Engagement and Participation Strategy Agency in Design conducted a face-to-face workshop with senior management, team leads and key internal stakeholders, followed by three online workshops with additional staff.
The in-person workshop encouraged participants to bring their diverse knowledge and expertise into a safe and interactive Design space and afford Agency in Design the opportunity to conduct a needs analysis to understand Contitnce Health Australia, reveal the priority areas and principles that would guide both a strategic alignment for action and the guiding visual for the subsequent Online workshops (and actions beyond).
By working collaboratively, with all relevant stakeholders, we were able to refine our understanding of the First Nations Engagement and Participation Strategy, and the three core Pillars, to develop a clearer picture of the driving intent and objectives of this strategy and align participants in accordance with its emergent principles.
The online workshops served a similar initial function, in that they also worked to empower participants to bring their diverse knowledge and expertise into a safe and interactive Design space, and work with Indigenous Knowledge informed co-Design routines, but they were far more prescriptive. These worked to assess the fit of the emergent outcomes of the initial workshop, align divergent understandings, and provided instruction for participants with regards to potential operational actions and future ways to develop such.
This informed the design and development of a first Nations Engagement and Participation Strategy Operational Guide and Resource Kit. This guide, structurally informed by a Design visual that was crafted from workshop engagements, included recommendations on where to best focus Continence Health Australia’s efforts to develop sustainable and meaningful engagement with, and participation from, First Nations Peoples. It also included a directive framework to support the continued development of actions in accord with three core pillars of the Strategy.
Agency in Design, in concert with key internal stakeholders, also crafted a distinct model for engagement, including bespoke cards and workshop routines, for Continence Health Australia to use moving forward as they iterate.
