Dear members of the health, medical and wellbeing research sector,

For over 35 years, Aboriginal communities across Victoria have been advocating to have agency over how health, medical and wellbeing research that impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, is conducted.

On Wednesday 11 October 2023, VACCHO was proud to officially launch marra ngarrgoo, marra goorri: The Victorian Aboriginal Health, Medical and Wellbeing Research Accord (the Accord). If you attended this event at Melbourne Museum, we thank you for coming to share this HUGE MILESTONE with us, we loved seeing you there!

If you don't know much about the Accord, you can read further information about it and download it here. There’s also an introduction video available here.

Now is time for VACCHO to implement marra ngarrgoo, marra goorri, to ensure that its vision and objectives are realised for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities . The Research Team at VACCHO is currently devising pragmatic initiatives and establishing processes for the following four priority actions of the Accord:

Increasing research capability, for our Community to lead and conduct more research, and for the non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research sector to become culturally safe and humble in the way it conducts research with us.
Establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research(ers) Network, for our Community to learn, work, support and partner with each other.
Instigating institutional reform by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Accord Accreditation Scheme, to ensure signatory research organisations improve their ethical research standards.
Establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Ethics Committee to review and approve research projects that impact us.

At this stage, we want to have a yarn about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Accord Accreditation Scheme. We are needing input from non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives in your organisation who are involved in research projects at any level. Some of the topics we will be yarning about will include:

Your experiences of conducting research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities
Tangible benefits for Communities resulting from your research projects
Challenges and barriers in undertaking research within Communities
Ways which you, your team and organisation can make research more community controlled
Ways that you currently manage intellectual property relating to Aboriginal communities
Opportunities in your team/organisation for Community members (including young people) to participate in or lead research projects
Potential hurdles/obstacles to your organisation undertaking the Accord Accreditation process.

Please register to yarn with us below - the following times are available:

On Friday 5 April 10am-12pm
On Monday 8 April 2-4pm

For members of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, we will be conducting a separate yarn open for registration here.

If you can't make it this time, please know that there will be additional opportunities to talk with us on other implementation actions in the coming months. You are welcome to participate to as many yarns as you wish.

We will email some concise information and a meeting link to registered participants prior to the event.

If you require assistance to be able to participate, do reach out to us so we may support you.

We look forward to further celebrating and implementing marra ngarrgoo, marra goorri with you. And please feel free to share this event with your networks.

You can contact us at varap@vaccho.org.au for more information.

The Research Team

Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation

*marra ngarrgoo, marra goorri literally translates to: Community Knowledge, Community Health. This phrase recognises the need to integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges in research that impacts us, in order to realise health in our communities. It puts forward the vision that our traditional ways of knowing, being and doing, and Aboriginal self-determination in research, are prerequisites to creating positive health outcomes for Community.