National Advisory Committee

A National Advisory Committee will meet midway through the Project to give expert advice.

It is envisaged that this committee will be the forerunner of a national alliance bringing together key stakeholders, community organisations and experts to develop actions to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention is addressed in a sustainable way.  A model for this is the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Native American/Alaska Native Taskforce) in the United States.

It is expected that membership will include representatives of the:

• Project Senior Management Team
• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership in Mental Health group (NATSILMH)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Advisory Group (ATSIMHSPAG)
• National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation
• National Healing Foundation
• National Children’s Commissioner (Australian Human Rights Commission)
• Suicide Prevention Australia
• Social Determinants of Health Alliance
• Menzies School of Health Research
• BeyondBlue
• Supportlink National
• Black Dog Institute
• Black Rainbow (LGBTQ peak body)
• State and territory mental health commissions
• Consumers

Personnel role descriptions

The Project Director:

• has overall responsibility for the conduct of the project
• will provide professional guidance and direction to the Senior Indigenous Community Research Consultant and the Community Consultant and Media Liaison officer and with key stakeholders
• is responsible for the quality and timeliness of the project deliverables
• is the main point of contact between the project, the UWA and Telethon Kids Institute and, working with the Community Consultant and Media Liaison officer.

The Project Executive Officer will:

• oversee project administration
• be contact and liaison officer with government
• support project governance activities (including budget oversight)
• organise and record National Advisory Committee meetings
• facilitate project engagement with Federal Government departments, Commonwealth Ministers and other key national stakeholders, as required; and
• working with the Project Director, will lead the preparation of all Project Reports.UWA administrative staff will support the Executive Officer as required.

The Community Consultant and Media Liaison officer will:

• undertake targeted community consultations with selected Aboriginal communities leading to the Roundtables
• Undertake planning for and delivery of Roundtables with the Senior Indigenous community research consultant
• lead preparation of media updates to promote the project and ensure community engagement
• provide timely information to the project team
• work closely with the evaluation team and the Senior Indigenous Community Research Consultant to engage effectively with communities and to ensure that there is an iterative flow of information between teams.

The Senior Indigenous community research consultant will:

• lead preparation of all Ethics Approval documentation necessary to obtain Ethics Approval for all community consultation activities by the end of 2014
• participate in community engagement activities with the Community Consultant and Media Liaison officer
• document community experiences of different suicide prevention programs
• provide analysis and recommendations to the Community Consultant and Media Liaison officer.

The Principal Evaluation and Research Consultant will:

• lead the research and evaluation of suicide prevention, early intervention and post-vention projects and services
• supported by a team at the Telethon Institute for Kids and at the Menzies School of Health Research, develop and implement a culturally appropriate research and evaluation framework to more effectively measure what works and why and report quantitative and qualitative findings with recommendations
• guide a systematic rapid scan review of national and international literature and data and associated statistical analysis.

Evaluation Team and Partners

• Team members will work with, and to the direction of, the Principal Evaluation and Research consultant according to their specialist skill areas in both quantitative and qualitative research.
• The quantitative researchers will undertake the data collection, statistical analysis, spatial analysis and mapping to provide a comprehensive baseline for short, medium and long term evaluation of the effectiveness of existing and new programs, and for the implementation of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy 2013-1017.
• The qualitative research evaluation will provide a theoretical framework of what works and why, and what is required to inform system-level change.

The Expert Adviser will:

• provide strategic advice and expertise to support the overall project
• lead engagement with the National Advisory Committee
• draw on his work with the development of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy 2013-2017 including contributing advice, information, resources, networks (particularly with NAACHO and local Aboriginal community partnerships) and findings from the national community consultation.