First Nations Practice Group

We evaluated a primary healthcare locum program to support remote Aboriginal communities in the NT

The Department of Health and Aged Care asked us to evaluate the Remote Area Health Corps and how the model was being implemented.

Measuring the community impact of Wungening Aboriginal Corporation

We worked with Wungening Aboriginal Corporation to develop a bespoke impact measurement framework underpinned by best-practice program evaluation methods.

Working with a Cape York Indigenous community to design a needs-based service delivery model

We helped an Indigenous community trust to better respond to community need, improve engagement with young people and increase health and wellbeing.

Our work celebrates the oldest continuing culture and contributes to self-determination and the First Nations national agenda

Case studies

A specialist university had committed to becoming an anti-racist institution following scrutiny over past efforts. The university recognised that students and staff had experienced racism. With our support, senior leaders wanted to understand those experiences better in order to design a new Head of Equity and Inclusion position and to establish organisational change principles to reduce inequity. A diverse Nous team conducted an institution-wide listening exercise to understand and improve the experiences of students and staff of colour. We used a trauma-informed approach, that emphasised safety (physical, psychological and emotional) and helped rebuild a sense of empowerment in those who had experienced trauma. At each stage we re-iterated the process’ confidentiality. The exercise identified instances of racism and highlighted challenges for the institution to address. We used journey maps to visualise challenges students and staff of colour experience during their engagement with the university. Our recommendations, which have been accepted, will help the university in its drive to be anti-racist. Find out more about this project.

Anti-racism review

Helping a specialist university with a diverse community to combat racism

The University of Kent identified the need to address racial inequities for staff and students. Many members of Kent’s community actively advocate for change and there were pockets of grassroots good practice across the university. However, the route to setting strategic direction had been unclear, and the university community felt little action had taken place. The university needed a strategy to support a culture shift that would tackle issues of structural racism. As a first step, Nous reviewed outcomes data to better understand issues for racially minoritised staff and students. Following this, we worked with the reference group and other university staff through interviews to understand the underlying issues contributing to race inequalities. Finally, we facilitated workshops with a reference group to develop the strategy’s vision, objectives and detailed actions. Kent is now one of the few universities in the UK with a strategy committed to advancing anti-racism. The executives are all committed to its success and have been assigned responsibility for delivering their relevant objectives. Find out more about this project.

“Nous was the critical external eye we needed to surface our structures and practices that are embedding racial inequality. They provided a framework for the work needed to enable colleagues and students to unlock a shared vision appropriate for Kent.”

Georgina Randsley de Moura, Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Strategy, Planning, and Performance, University of Kent

Anti-racism plan

Supporting the University of Kent to advance antiracism

The Integrated Care System for Devon (ICSD) is a partnership of health and social care organisations working together with local communities across Devon to improve people’s health, wellbeing and care. The ICSD knew from previous consultations that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities were experiencing challenges with healthcare access, participation and outcomes. Nous worked with the ICSD to explore these issues and identify opportunities for improvement. To understand the opportunities it was essential to tap into the lived experiences of BAME staff and communities in Devon. Nous collaborated with BAME staff networks and community organisations, including the BAME staff network in hospital trusts and the Plymouth & Devon Race Equality Council. This partnership gave participants essential support, including translation, during the consultations. In total we engaged 67 BAME participants from across Devon, using individual and group interviews, in person and online. These engagements were complemented by analysis of local and national data on BAME health inequalities. We offered system-level recommendations for ICSD and local recommendations for individual partner organisations, all of which were accepted. Find out more about this project.

“The review undertaken by Nous has been an invaluable step in understanding the issues in Devon and enabling us to develop a plan to tackle them. It has been a real pleasure working with Nous. The team were really focused on what we wanted to achieve and worked with this at every stage to ensure our goals were met.”

Andrew Millward, Director of Communications and Engagement, Integrated Care System Devon

Stakeholder listening

Helping a health and social care system connect with BAME communities

Great Northern Museum showcases Newcastle’s natural history, archaeology, geology and world cultures. The museum was seeking to more effectively incorporate the perspectives of people who had been impacted by colonisation. We worked with the museum to develop a decolonisation strategy so it could understand and address colonial legacies. We interviewed individuals, community organisations and museum staff to understand the situation. We then worked with the museum to plan the long-term work to create and enact the strategy. We identified key work areas, including alignment of purpose, objectives and scope; a conceptual framework to guide key questions; and a full strategy workplan. We established ways to engage stakeholders and reviewed the current state to identify risks and mitigations. The museum is continuing to develop its decolonisation strategy.

Decolonisation strategy

Working with Great Northern Museum on a decolonisation strategy

A large university wanted to better understand the experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff. We helped the university run consultations with BAME staff to explore their experience of recruitment and progression to better understand themes that had emerged from a survey. We held workshops, group interviews and one-on-one consultations to explore recruitment and selection, career progression and promotion, and raising and reporting racism. The work surfaced key insights, including that staff perceived a lack of equitable practices in the recruitment process, insufficient progression-related transparency, and barriers to reporting incidents. We then identified realistic actions to address pain points and barriers and improve equity, diversity and inclusion.

Employee engagement

Helping a university to understand BAME staff experience

A creative arts academy had undertaken significant work to advance racial equality but was facing challenges creating a shared, institution-wide approach. We started by reviewing existing anti-racism documentation and synthesising leading practice in higher education and the performing arts. We then engaged about 50 teaching staff, professional services staff, students, trustees and alumni to shape the academy’s refreshed anti-racism action plan through interviews, workshops and a survey. We later tested and iterated the plan with key stakeholders. The refreshed action plan identified six high-level goals, from supporting an equitable experience of Global Majority students and staff through to fostering partnerships that support racial diversity and inclusion. The academy’s executive and board have endorsed these goals. The work took place in a highly sensitive and emotionally charged environment. Some students and staff felt the plan was not going far enough, while some senior leaders felt it was lacking nuance. Developing a plan that could unite all stakeholders was a big challenge. We worked iteratively with cross-sectional groups of community members to define and prioritise the actions required and helped senior leaders and non-executive stakeholders to understand why these actions matter so much to the wider staff, student and alumni body. Establishing a governance process for the plan to be approved and communicated was crucial to its success.

“We were very happy with the project leadership and delivery. The Nous team were excellent colleagues to work with – highly professional, knowledgeable and efficient.”

Director at the arts academy

Anti-racism strategy

Developing an anti-racism strategy for an arts academy

A Russell Group university sought a university-wide strategy and implementation roadmap to enrol and support students from underrepresented groups. The strategy had to cover undergraduate and postgraduate students and enable staff teams to understand how they contribute. We started by analysing student demographic data to understand key issues for access, continuation, attainment and progression. We then consulted with staff and students on strategic vision and priorities, bringing together different perspectives into one coherent narrative. We tested emerging findings with a taskforce of key senior staff through interactive online workshops. Finally, we developed an implementation roadmap that established delivery horizons, accountabilities for strategy elements and supporting governance structures. The new strategy brings together broad work areas through an access and student success lens. The strategy has accelerated efforts to address unfair access and success for postgraduate students through the expansion of previously undergraduate-only initiatives and policies. It has also led the university to set targets for a more diverse workforce of professional and academic staff to support the agenda. The university is implementing the strategy via our implementation roadmap and is adjusting governance processes in line with our recommendations.

Diversification roadmap

Helping a university to understand BAME staff experience

“Nous took the time to really understand the institutional context and the perspectives of stakeholders. They combined this with their expertise of the global higher education system and clarity of approach to work with us to develop our ambitious strategy.”

UK university executive

Intersectional analysis is not just good to have – it is essential for designing policy programmes that deliver equitable outcomes

The three questions every organisation needs to ask to create an authentic and impactful ESG strategy

Advancing racial equality in higher education

Inclusive organisations can combat social inequality and improve the bottom line

Read more about our thinking on these issues

OUR THINKING

Developing an anti-racism strategy for an arts academy

A creative arts academy had undertaken significant work to advance racial equality but was facing challenges creating a shared, institution-wide approach.

Anti-racism strategy

Helping a university to understand BAME staff experience

A large university wanted to better understand the experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff.

Employee engagement

Developing a roadmap to diversify the student population

A Russell Group university sought a university-wide strategy and implementation roadmap to enrol and support students from underrepresented groups.

Diversification roadmap

Developing an anti-racism strategy for an arts academy

A creative arts academy had undertaken significant work to advance racial equality but was facing challenges creating a shared, institution-wide approach.

Anti-racism strategy

Helping a university to understand BAME staff experience

A large university wanted to better understand the experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff.

Employee engagement

Working with Great Northern Museum on a decolonisation strategy

Great Northern Museum showcases Newcastle’s natural history, archaeology, geology and world cultures.

Decolonisation strategy

Stakeholder listening

nti-racism plan

Anti-racism review

Finding the right language to talk about ethnicity and other protected characteristics is challenging and differs across organisations, communities, and countries. Individuals see their identity in distinct ways. However, language around ethnicity often aggregates experiences of people from diverse backgrounds into homogenous categories. Examples include BAME (which amalgamates individuals and communities who are Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic), Global Majority and people of diverse ethnicities. This often creates an “othering” by defining one group of people by what they are not (say, “minority ethnic” as opposed to an undefined majority ethnicity). In addition, any definition of “minority” is context-specific, so the categorisation means different things in different places. We understand this complexity so work sensitively with clients and consultees, and with respect to jurisdictional differences, to ensure we use the right language for your context and treat people compassionately. The project examples given here use the preferred language of the clients in each case.

A note on language and terminology