Research process 35

The research team was notified verbally in late 2005 that it would be awarded a contract for the project. A Project Plan was prepared based on the successful application.

User group

A User Group was established by AHURI with representation from each state/territory jurisdiction Indigenous housing agency. The Project Plan was circulated to this User Group for comment and a teleconference held with them on 28 November 2005 with representatives from the research team, AHURI-WA, AHURI, FaCS, QLD, WA, and SCIH. Feedback gained was used to modify the Project Plan accordingly. The contract was awarded to Murdoch University by AHURI via their Letter of Offer of 15 December 2005.

Discussion paper one

Discussion Paper 1 (DP1) was prepared in which a brief policy review was presented as well as a series of viability factors and methods. This was distributed to User Group members in March 2006 for comment.

Workshop one

Workshop 1 was held in Canberra on 4 April 2006 and all jurisdictions on the User Group were represented except Western Australia and Queensland. Final feedback on DP1 was received in May from User Group members.

Selection of cases

User Group members were asked to nominate ten ICHOs each in their respective jurisdictions which would form the basis of a case study approach. Only two from each jurisdiction would be visited for face-to-face surveys. Jurisdictional officers were asked to assess the organisational capacity (performance) of the 60 ICHOs across Australia on a three-point scale, with 1 representing ‘concerns’, 2 being ‘sound/fair’ and 3 being ‘good’. QLD, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia each provided a list of ten ICHOs based on recommended selection criteria for initial desktop study.

New South Wales provided additional funding for an expanded survey and provided their list of ten ACHPs based on recommended selection criteria for initial desktop study. Six of these were subsequently selected for visitation and detailed profiling in order to highlight viability factors at work.

South Australia provided additional funding for an expanded survey and provided a list of thirteen ICHOs based on recommended selection criteria for initial desktop study. Eight of these were subsequently selected for visitation and detailed profiling in order to highlight viability factors at work. However, this included five case study groups that represented a single regional governance arrangement (APY Lands).

Discussion paper two

Discussion Paper 2 was distributed to User Group members in August 2006. This contained further development of the viability factors and the survey instrument for comment.

Workshop two

Workshop 2 was held in Adelaide on 10 August 2006 and all jurisdictions on the User Group were represented, except Western Australia and Queensland.

Indigenous research ethics protocols

The Murdoch University Human Research Ethics Committee approved the project on 25 July, 2006 making the point: ‘The Committee commend the researcher for the careful attention to conveying the way the cultural sensitivities involved in this project will be addressed’. (Project Permit Number = 2006/215.)

Pilot cases with survey instruments

The survey instruments were finalised after being piloted with an ICHO in Queensland and another in Western Australia.

Telephone surveys

As part of the research methods, it was proposed to conduct telephone surveys of the 10 ICHOs selected by each jurisdiction minus those to be visited. Telephone surveys commenced with an abbreviated survey instrument, but could not be completed due to the widespread lack of response from the targeted ICHOs.

Fieldwork to visit case study sites

Fieldwork at all sites involved semi-structured interviews and focus groups based on the full survey instrument. These were completed in the second half of 2006.

Additional cases

New South Wales and South Australia funded the inclusion of four and seven additional case studies respectively, over and above the one or two selected for their jurisdiction from the ten, and these were also visited in the second half of 2006. An application was forwarded to AHURI for inclusion of Victoria as an additional field case and this was awarded in January 2007. The visits occurred later that month.

Case profiles

After each field visit, the field notes and survey instrument form were transferred to both an excel spreadsheet and a case profile. The case profiles were written up supported by triangulation with documentation and follow-up interviews. The case profiles were sent back to respondents for comment and changes made where required.

Case data analysis

Analysis of case data was conducted in three ways and is described in the following section.

Reporting

Progress reports were prepared for AHURI quarterly. Presentations on preliminary findings were made as follows:

Æ SCIH roundtable in Brisbane by Dr Martin Anda on 16 November 2006.

Æ New South Wales AHO in Parramatta by Dr Martin Anda and Frederick Spring on 27 February 2007.

Æ FaCSIA in Canberra by Dr Martin Anda and Frederick Spring on 1 March 2007. Æ South Australia AHO in Adelaide by Frederick Spring on 2 April 2007.

Æ Australian Social Policy Conference, Sydney by Mr Karel Eringa on 11 July 2007. Æ AHURI/DHW seminar in Perth by Mr Karel Eringa on 20 September 2007.

Æ RAIA Indigenous Housing Conference by Dr Martin Anda on 26 October 2007.

Draft final report

A draft Final Report was prepared and distributed to User Group members in November 2007 for comment.

Workshop three

The third and final workshop was conducted on 12 February 2008 in Perth to discuss findings and policy implications. Feedback collected from the workshop and afterwards was used to amend the Final Report accordingly.

Final Report

A Final Report was prepared for publication by AHURI. It was presented to SCIH members for a 10-day comment period after which revisions were made before publication.

Research and Policy Bulletin

The Final Report has been summarised into a short Research and Policy Bulletin and this has been distributed widely to researchers, policy-makers, and other stakeholders.