INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE PROTECTED IN NEW RESEARCH AGREEMENTS

Mandy Downing . Credit: Supplied

A Ngarluma-Yindjibarndi researcher is breaking barriers for Indigenous research at Curtin University in Perth.

Curtin’s first Dean of Indigenous Futures Mandy Downing has developed a new initiative that will safeguard Indigenous knowledge and culture and reduce delays for Indigenous researchers.

Ms Downing said she felt a duty to identify and address the challenges and barriers faced by Indigenous people engaging in research. 

“It’s to do with how we protect Indigenous knowledge in Indigenous research,” she said.

“We have developed a new approach that streamlines the process for researchers who are engaging in Indigenous Australian research while also prompting and encouraging researchers to actively consider the ethical considerations of working with Indigenous cultural and intellectual property at the start of their research project.”

Ms Downing said that researchers were having delays of over a year for research to get to communities and the ethical guidelines around Indigenous research were unclear.

“So my suggestion was ‘why don’t we develop a template that was specific for Indigenous research?” she said.

The initiative will also seek to provide legal assistance to Indigenous participants in studies to help them understand their rights when approached by researchers.

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