Evaluator Perspective: An interview with Nicole Tujague

Abstract

Nicole tells us her story of coming to a decision to work more closely in the Indigenous space. She embarked on a journey of self-discovery which resulted in not only understanding herself but also her own people. One of her important discoveries was finding the Australian Evaluation Society (AES) and meeting people of like minds. She questioned projects where measurement is determined by the funder, not by the Indigenous people who are being impacted by the evaluation, and on the programmes which affect their lives. She has also realised that it is not enough to do evaluation in a culturally safe way, but that evaluation should be culturally safe and trauma informed. You need to understand the trauma histories of people and communities and that knowledge needs to be embedded in your methodology. Without that knowledge, you cannot expect to understand the community and its issues or produce outcomes that are healing.