Client profile

Aboriginal women from the NPY Lands created NPY Women’s Council (NPYWC) in 1980 to give a voice to women in this region. It is now a major provider of health and human services that maintains a strong voice for its members on issues such as substance abuse, domestic and family violence, child protection, policy and other safety issues, and the needs and aspirations of young people. At its core, the purpose of NPYWC is to work with women and their families of the NPY region in central Australia to increase their capacity to lead safe and healthy lives with improved life choices.

Project context

NPYWC is a critical organisation to the aboriginal people within the region, playing a leading role in the governance and reform within the region, and seen as a leader at a national level in this regard. NPYWC’s current strategic plan expired in 2018, and as such, they needed a new plan that will help them navigate and thrive in an increasingly challenging funding environment and cohort with complex needs. Spark was engaged to co-create the 5-year strategic plan with the organisation, its Anangu directors and its members.

Solution

The strategic planning process involved running a range of sessions with staff, the Aboriginal Directors and senior management, as well as undertaking in excess of 20 interviews with external stakeholders of the organisation. Across all parts of the project, it was never more important or critical to listen, reflect and playback the voice of those sharing their views, stories and insights and the voice of their community. As an aboriginal organisation, this project sought to be careful, thoughtful and purposeful in our engagement, ensuring that we reflect and bring out culture in every part of this plan. Critical learning and actions we delivered included: incorporating art and visual language into our storytelling and aspirations; ensuring that we had interpreters at every stage and brought in local language throughout the plan; and continually testing our words, direction and meaning with the Aboriginal Directors to have ownership throughout. The plan was endorsed and has been published, now guiding the organisation in all their decisions over the coming years.

The strategic plan can be found on their website.