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Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs

Research

Occasional Paper 19

Lessons learnt about strengthening Indigenous families and communities

John Scougall. March 2008

The Stronger Families and Communities Strategy (the Strategy) 2000–2004 was an Australian Government initiative funded by the Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS) to help build family and community capacity to deal with challenges and take advantage of opportunities. In 2002, a consortium led by CIRCLE (the Collaborative Institute for Research Consulting and Learning in Evaluation) at RMIT University was commissioned by FaCS to undertake a national evaluation of the Strategy.

This report discusses what has been learned from the Strategy 2000–2004 about how to strengthen Indigenous families and communities. These lessons have implications for future interventions funded through the Strategy 2004–2009, and through other funding initiatives and programs. The report provides insights into critical factors that explain the success of some projects and some of the frustrations experienced by others.