Indigenous Research Exchange

Apply now

AIATSIS is committed to ensuring greater involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in setting research priorities, leading projects and determining the appropriate collection and use of data about communities.

There is currently an abundance of data and research that is not accessible nor translatable for use by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

In February 2017, the Prime Minister announced a whole-of-government research and evaluation strategy for policies and programs affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the 9th Closing the Gap Statement.

As part of this announcement, the Australian Government provisioned $10 million over three years for the establishment of an Indigenous Research Fund. AIATSIS administers the Fund through the Indigenous Research Exchange (the Exchange).

The Exchange Grant Program

The Exchange grant program provides grant opportunities that identify and fund projects that:

  • Support high quality impactful Indigenous led research.
  • Improve the accessibility and availability of quality robust research and evidence based solutions.
  • Support organisations (outside of research bodies) to participate in research activities that will have relevance and impact beyond the community and project.

Grant Program Objectives

The objectives of the Indigenous Research Exchange Grants Program are:

  1. Connect people, data, ideas and evidence
  2. Translate, synthesise, and disseminate evidence and data
  3. Make research findings more accessible, more contestable and more useable
  4. Shape research agendas
  5. Promote good practice and use of evidence

Grant Program Outcomes

The intended outcome of the Indigenous Research Exchange Grants Program is to build the evidence base to support Indigenous decision making and policy design through system changing and impact driven projects led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

AIATSIS will ensure that the Grant Program outcome is met by funding a diverse range of research projects that contribute towards the following Program objectives:

  • All projects funded by the program will have strong Indigenous leadership.
  • The projects will represent the highest quality in approach and ethics.
  • Funded projects will have relevance and impact beyond the community or project.
  • Outputs of the projects will be translated into forms that are accessible by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and policy makers to inform decision making.
  • Outputs of the projects will add to the evidence and data available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and policy makers in accordance with the highest standards for recognition and protection of Indigenous cultural and intellectual property.
  • Outputs of the project will be made available on the Knowledge Exchange Platform where culturally appropriate, and required permissions has been given, by both the grantee and respective ICIP holders.

The Knowledge Exchange Platform

The Knowledge Exchange Platform complements the grant program. The platform is being designed to make Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander related research findings more accessible, more contestable and more useable for communities, researchers and government. The platform is currently being developed in conjunction with:

  • Indigenous-led expertise
  • Strong governance and protocols; including Indigenous Data Governance, Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) principles.

2019-20 Grant Recipients

The inaugural grant round opened 11 December 2019 and closed 28 February 2020.

Projects are located in Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australian the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales in urban, regional and remote locations.

Successful projects cover a range of critical policy areas such as: children’s education and out of home care, women’s imprisonment, Indigenous evaluation, town planning, land management, governance, trade and diplomacy, governance and nation-building, and educative outcomes from art.

Exchange Advisory Board

The Indigenous Research Exchange Advisory Board (the Advisory Board) provides strategic guidance to the Grants Program and ensures the outcomes and objectives are achieved. Each funding year the Advisory Board will establish priorities for the Program based on engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders peoples.

Last reviewed: 7 Sep 2020