Indigenous evaluation: Best practices for social and emotional wellbeing and suicide prevention

This paper provides an in-depth review of Indigenous evaluation practices related to social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB), mental health, and suicide prevention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It highlights the principles, best practices, and challenges of current approaches to Indigenous evaluation.

Key issues include the need for community-based methodologies and outcomes, data sovereignty, and a commitment to capacity building. The findings emphasise that effective evaluation must be led or governed by Indigenous peoples, involve genuine community participation, respect cultural knowledge systems, and prioritise lived experience, cultural safety, and harm minimisation. Overall, it argues that evaluation should not just measure outcomes but empower communities and contribute to sustainable wellbeing, healing and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.