Disaster Resilience and Emergency Management in Indigenous Communities in Darwin and Palmerston: Stage 2 Report: Indigenous Researcher Development

In June 2015, the Australian Red Cross commissioned the Northern Institute of Charles Darwin University to carry out a series of consultations focused on the experiences of Indigenous communities in Darwin and Palmerston during emergencies.

This research was carried out in two stages. Stage 1 involved a number of consultations, the aim of which was to explore the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Darwin when a cyclone, bushfire or severe weather event strikes and in its aftermath, and to identify determinants of vulnerability from the perspective of these communities.

Stage 2 of this research has focused on Indigenous researcher development, and ways in which Indigenous researchers participating in projects such as this one, may be recognised for their contributions, and supported in their professional development, within and beyond the life of the project.

The basis of this work has been a series of discussions with project researchers, reflecting on their involvement in this project, and what worked and what didn’t. We have also worked together to produce a number of online profiles which showcase these (and other) Indigenous researchers, recording and displaying previous work that they have carried out, and detailing kinds of research work that they may be interested in pursuing in the future.

Throughout both stages of this research project, the Indigenous researchers involved have clearly articulated that both research and emergency management work offer promising employment opportunities for Indigenous people in urban and remote communities.

Drawing on this Stage 2 work, the following pages outline means for supporting community based Indigenous researchers in the course of their work with government, nongovernment and university organisations, and for appropriately attending to the professional development of these workers in the conduct of research work.

We hope that these suggestions and insights will be of benefit to organisations working with Indigenous researchers and volunteers, and will support the possibility of mutual benefit and learning in the course of these collaborations.