James Smith (Charles Darwin University), Kellie Pollard (Charles Darwin University), Kim Robertson (Charles Darwin University), Sue Trinidad (Curtin University)

The Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People (2012) provided a clear mandate for investing in policies and programs that support Indigenous pathways, participation and achievement in higher education in Australia. While there have been notable investments and significant national reforms in Indigenous higher education over the past few years, the recommendation within this report to develop a monitoring and evaluation framework is yet to be actioned. Similarly, there is scant publicly available evaluation evidence about the effectiveness of program and policy investments in this space. In parallel, both the Productivity Commission and Australian Government have emphasised the importance of strengthening evaluation in Indigenous program and policy contexts across Australia. Bringing these two national conversations together, this presentation will examine what we currently know about evaluation in Indigenous higher education contexts in Australia. It is based on qualitative research project currently being conducted through the Office of Pro Vice Chancellor - Indigenous Leadership at Charles Darwin University. This has been funded through the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. Human research ethics approval has been obtained. It will draw on empirical evidence derived from individual interviews with two participant groups - (a) Indigenous leaders and scholars within higher education institutions; and (b) government policy-makers with a role in equity and/or Indigenous higher education program and policy development and reform. Narratives from individual interviews with these two participant groups will be compared and contrasted to identify key themes and areas for improvement. Findings will be used to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with building evaluation capital in Indigenous higher education contexts in Australia. Feedback will also be sought in relation to the development of tools and resources to guide enhanced evaluation practice in this space.