Interplay Project

Project Overview

Interplay between culture, community, empowerment, education, employment, health and wellbeing in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

The Interplay project concluded in June 2017. It established an evidence base that provides policymakers and business with an objective measure of the complex interrelationships between health, wellbeing, education and economic participation and the role of culture, community and empowerment.

The project developed a wellbeing framework designed in collaboration with Aboriginal community researchers to evaluate the impact of interventions and inform policy in the areas of culture, community, empowerment, education, employment, health and wellbeing

The project had a strong focus on strength-based approaches and the genuine involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, particularly from remote communities, at all stages of the research including design, planning, data collection, interpretation and reporting. It expanded the definition of education, employment, health and wellbeing beyond mainstream understandings.

As a result of this research, a powerful evaluative tool has been developed to inform and objectively measure the impact of a range of policies and programs. The project was a longitudinal study and will have long-term impact, improving the quality of life for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living remotely through coordinated transformative change driven by policy and community action, using the rich knowledge derived through the research as a base.

Outputs from this research included:

• A framework and assessment tools to monitor and evaluate the interplay between culture, community, empowerment, education, employment, health and wellbeing in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
• A preliminary analysis of the interplay and influence of culture, community, empowerment, education, employment and health on wellbeing
• A comparative analysis of the effects of different types and approaches to education and employment on health and wellbeing
• Information for families and communities on ways to improve health and wellbeing through education and employment
• Knowledge for policymakers and service providers on the design and development of policy and practice to achieve improved health and wellbeing outcomes
• Relationships that enable communities to contribute to and derive long-term value from research towards achieving their own future objectives
• Research capacity development for Aboriginal Community Researchers.

Longer-term outcomes are being achieved through uptake of the research results to inform and influence policy and behavioural change.

Research results from this project were disseminated widely, with the project publishing 18 journal papers, presenting at 9 conferences and creating 23 other end-user publications.