Background
In Western Australia (WA), the Department of Communities (Communities) is responsible for the coordination of emergency relief and support services during and following disasters. Over the past few years, WA has seen natural disasters increase in size, severity and complexity.
The Kimberley Flood recovery has reinforced the need to enhance monitoring and evaluation activities to be more inclusive of cultural needs and recognise inequalities.
Communities has engaged a consultant, a key Indigenous researcher on the Disaster Recovery Capitals (ReCap) project and the Indigenous Healing Framework, to deliver the Cultural Outcomes Framework Project (the Framework). The Project establishes cultural program outcomes and indicators to measure the impact of program activities and develop an inclusive framework that can be used for future recoveries. Development included consultation with service providers and recovery workers.
The project team is currently seeking feedback and input to finalise the Framework, with a focus on the evaluation tool component, by 20 November 2024. If you would find this framework and/or tool helpful, or wish to provide feedback, please complete this survey.
The Framework
The WA Post-Disaster Cultural Evaluation Framework has been adapted through consultation and drawing on existing research. The Framework is aligned with the Closing the Gap Strategy, the Disaster Indigenous Healing Framework, The Recovery Capitals and the Social and Emotional Wellbeing Framework.
The purpose of the Framework is to improve the quality of disaster recovery programs in Indigenous communities. The Framework helps to provide a consistent approach to support service delivery of recovery programs that can also support comprehensive evaluation.
The Framework is designed for anyone working in Indigenous communities after a disaster and can be implemented by local and State governments, as well as non-government organisations.
The Framework offers:
- replicable outcomes across different communities and contexts, while having the flexibility to respond to each case study
- outcomes that can be incorporated into an overall program logic
- a list of questions that support measurement of impact indicators
- guidance on sourcing and collecting information, and
- guidance on community and representation.
The Framework also recognises that Indigenous leadership and self-determination are integral in this evaluation process. The Framework is broad and designed to be adapted to the circumstances, needs and priorities of individual communities. The Tool (see below) is designed to be workshopped with appropriate delegates of communities or an appropriate representative group or organisation. Results from an evaluation should be socialised with Indigenous leaders or representative organisations who can assist to interpret and provide meaning and context of results.
The outcomes of an effective recovery framework include six key components:
- Country – the environment is healthy and accessible
- Financial – free from hardship
- Built environment – safe and adequate housing and infrastructure
- Health – sufficient access to medical care and professional service or otherwise healthy
- Opportunity – planning for the future
- Agency – feel in control
The Tool – Impact Indicators
To support the outcomes, an evaluation tool has been developed to measure the success of a recovery program. The Tool includes a suite of questions designed to measure positive or negative responses, which can be calculated to form a score, measuring outcomes in each recovery domain introduced above.
Impact Indicators sample
Below are sample questions to measure how the community may be feeling after a disaster. The questions are linked to each outcome and sit across all areas’ recovery/community capital.
Country – the environment is healthy and accessible
Show more- I/we feel safe to access and be on Country
- The Country provides resources that I/we use, such as food or material
- The environment is as safe as it was before
- I/we enjoy being on Country
- I/we are generally happy with the state of the Country
- The Country has changed because of the event/disaster
- The Country is managed well
Financial – free from hardship
Show more- I/we struggle to pay my/our bills on time
- There are enough good paying jobs in my/our community
- The recovery has brought much-needed financial support after the disaster/event
- I/we am/are not financially worse off because of the disaster/event
- I/we have access to financial support
- I/we don’t struggle to put food on the table
Built environment – safe and adequate housing and infrastructure
Show more- I/we can drive from place to place without worrying about the roads
- I/we in a house/s that is/are physically safe
- I/we have access to clean drinking water from the tap
- I/we can use my/our mobile phone/s when I/we want without worrying about reception
- I/we can access the internet when I/we need to
- There are enough houses in this region/town/community for everyone
- If something happened like before, I/we feel like our houses are safe
Health - sufficient access to medical care and professional service or otherwise healthy
Show more- If I/we feel healthy and don’t see a doctor regularly
- If I/we feel sick, I/we can see a doctor easily
- I/we have access to medication if needed
- I/we have access to health services if needed
- I/we could speak with someone like a counsellor if I/we needed
- Generally, I/we am/are happy with the health services provided in this region/town/community
Opportunity - planning for the future
Show more- I/we feel confident about my/our future
- I/we are making plans for something that hasn’t happened yet
- I/we feel like I/we can make plans and are confident that they will happen
- I/we are setting new goals
- I/we feel like it’s a waste of time thinking about things that haven’t happened yet
- Children have a bright future in this region/town/community
- I/we feel like my/our region/town/community is strong and sustainable
Agency – feel in control
Show more- I/we are satisfied that I/we have been listened to in the recovery process
- I/we feel like things have happened to me/us, not with me/us
- There is more than one way that I/we can have my/our voice heard
- I/we feel in control of my/our recovery
- I/we feel that I/we have been able to participate in recovery efforts
- I/we feel comfortable that my/our views have been heard in relation to the recovery efforts