Tag Archives: 09 Nation building and development
The MWG working together for the whole community
November 16, 2016How common goals united Girringun
November 16, 2016Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly
March 22, 2013Self-determination and community control The Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly (MPRA) is comprised of the Chairs or representatives of 16 Aboriginal Community Working Parties (CWP’s) across the Murdi Paaki Region of NSW. MPRA see self-determination as the key success to their …
Read More Posted in Case Studies Tagged 09 Nation building and development, 9.0 Governance for nation rebuilding and developmentBendigo Indigenous Homework Centre (BIHC)
March 15, 2013Partnership and inclusiveness Bendigo Indigenous Homework Centre (BIHC) was set up in 2008 as a joint initiative by the Bendigo Local Indigenous Network, the Goldfield Local Learning and Employment network and the Department of Education Childhood Development. BIHC was set up …
Read More Posted in Case Studies Tagged 09 Nation building and development, 9.0 Governance for nation rebuilding and developmentALPA empowerment of Yolngu communities
February 28, 2013Building the Murdi Paaki governance structure
February 28, 2013Ten steps for the foundations of strong governance
February 28, 2013- Seriously consider an incremental approach. Start off with one or two achievable priorities, achieve success there and then build on that. With continued success, community leaders could consider tackling a broader range of issues in a comprehensive approach.
- Make sure your community is behind you. There are countless stories of leaders getting so far out in front of their members that when the time comes for community ratification, it fails because the members are hearing about the details for the first time. Your members give you the mandate to build governance.
- Make sure your leadership is credible. Leaders must include their members in community planning and implementation. Credible leaders work hard to involve and unite the entire community or nation, and engage wider networks to support solutions.
- Build capable and legitimate institutions. These are your laws, constitutions, regulations, rules, policies, and checks and balances. Use them to develop a strategic approach to rebuild your nation’s governance and identify priorities and the approach to be taken.
- Identify strategic priorities and concerns. You cannot do everything at once. The current generation may have particular needs that will change in the future. Some foundations need to be built now, and others can be built upon later.
- Look hard at genuine cultural solutions. Culture is a source of innovation. Look at your enduring cultural values and the realistic role they can play in revitalising your governance and nation. Leaders that embrace cultural integrity work hard to harness the strength and resilience of cultural roots in ways that are credible and workable in today’s world.
- Ensure the governance capacity and confidence of your people is being actively developed and continuously promoted. Do this in parallel with implementing your other strategic goals and agreements. Don’t leave this until a crisis hits. It is no use having authority unless you can practically implement and exercise it.
- Ask the hard questions along the way. This will help ensure that your governance solutions continue to work as you want them to. In other words, make sure you monitor and periodically review your checks and balances.
- Make sure you have a succession plan in place and that young leaders can contribute their new ideas now, not later. Leaders build for the future by mentoring youth who will carry on their good work long into the future.
- Create genuine strategic alliances with other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations and with non-Indigenous supporters. Experiment with networked and collaborative governance arrangements that will support your agenda.
These 10 steps are drawn substantially from the governance research and writings of Dr Neil Sterritt; the Australian Indigenous Community Governance Research Project at The Australian National University; and the research of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, Udall Centre, University of Arizona.
How to manage problems with your networks
February 28, 2013To make sure your networks give you the best support for your governance, here are some potential problems to watch out for, and some tips for how to address them.
Network governance problem |
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Making decisions. Some networks aim to reach consensus decisions—that is, all parties agreeing. But sometimes a single party may disagree, stopping a decision being made or later undermining it. |
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Becoming complacent. Networks can run the risk of becoming complacent, operating only in their comfort zone. They may also become bureaucratic and inflexible. |
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Accountability can become dispersed. Accountability may become more difficult to monitor in large networks because decisions are made at many different points. Large networks are also more likely to lose touch with outlying members. |
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Acquiring new skills. Setting up new partnerships may require entirely new skills and knowledge, or may come up against resistance from the existing network. |
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Becoming competitive. Networks between groups or organisations with similar functions, memberships and funding sources may become competitive rather than collaborative. |
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Losing control. Leaders and managers risk losing control of their own agenda if key stakeholders in your network—government, non-government organisations or industry groups—have different ideas and priorities. |
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How networks and networking can improve governance
February 28, 2013Networks and networking can improve your governance in many ways:
Networks can foster constructive solutions |
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Networks are flexible and responsive |
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Networks create close relationships and ties, shared priorities and goals |
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Networks can be a source of information and support |
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Decisions reached by networks can be more legitimate and easier to implement |
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Networks can link the national and regional to the local level |
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Networks encourage the exchange of knowledge and build new skills |
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Networks can benefit from economies of scale |
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Networks improve your reputation |
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Snapshot: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander networked governance at work
February 28, 2013You can see networked Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander governance at work in the structure and operation of: |
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