spacer
spacer
AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ABORIGINAL
AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER STUDIES CORPORATE PLAN 1998 - 2000

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), the first Commonwealth Statutory Authority to focus on Australian Indigenous cultures, was established in 1964 as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. It has a proud tradition of excellence in research, collecting and publishing and is the world’s leading institution conducting these activities in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

This Corporate Plan reflects that tradition of excellence. Council and the staff of the Institute are strongly committed to the goals and values it articulates and to the associated consultative and planning processes it encompasses. Together, we are working towards serving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and the broader Australian and international communities in ways which are timely and relevant. This will contribute to our mission to promote knowledge and understanding of Australian Indigenous cultures, past and present.

Marcia Langton, AM
(Chairperson)		 Russ Taylor
(Principal)

Our Mission

To promote knowledge and understanding of Australian Indigenous cultures, past and present.

Our Vision

We aim to be an institution which:

  • is the world’s foremost centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies;
  • recognises the unique position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures as part of Australia’s cultural diversity;
  • works in partnership with Indigenous Australians to undertake research into, and to promote knowledge and understanding of, Australian Indigenous cultures;
  • ensures that the unique collections in our custody are accessible, preserved and documented to international standards for all Australians.

Through a network of Council and its committees, staff, members and stakeholders, we comprise a diverse community committed to carrying out activities which affirm and raise awareness among all Australians, and people of other nations, of the richness and diversity of Australian Indigenous cultures and histories.

We value:

  • the richness and diversity of Australian Indigenous cultures
  • the centrality of Australian Indigenous cultures to all our activities
  • Australian Indigenous systems of knowledge
  • human rights
  • cultural awareness and cultural diversity
  • our independence
  • intellectual freedom
  • creativity and initiative
  • ethical standards and practices
  • cultural and intellectual property rights
  • client satisfaction
  • equity, access and participation
  • high standards of efficiency, transparency and accountability
  • effective and open communication
  • contributions from stakeholders

Our Goals
  • To maximise the role of Indigenous people in, and increase access to, all of the activities and services of the Institute
  • To provide leadership and excellence in undertaking, promoting and facilitating high quality research in Australian Indigenous Studies
  • To develop, maintain and preserve well-documented archives and collections and to maximise access to these in line with appropriate cultural and ethical practices
  • To create, develop and disseminate a diverse range of products and services about Australian Indigenous cultures
  • To ensure that the AIATSIS is managed efficiently and effectively in a transparent, accountable and supportive manner.

We pursue the goals of the Institute for:

  • Australian Indigenous peoples and their future generations;
  • members of the wider Australian and international communities with an interest in Indigenous Studies.

Strategies

We will pursue our goal:

To maximise the role of Indigenous people in, and increase access to, all of the activities and services of the Institute

through strategies which include:

  • Raising the profile of the Institute among Indigenous peoples by ensuring that information is widely available;
  • Implementing an Indigenous recruitment and career development policy;
  • Encouraging Indigenous participation in decision-making at all levels of the operations of the Institute;
  • Encouraging and facilitating Indigenous involvement in research at all levels;
  • Enhancing Indigenous access to the Institute’s collections;
  • Promoting Aboriginal Studies Press as a publisher of Indigenous works;
  • Developing cultural awareness among staff.

We will pursue our goal:

To provide leadership and excellence in undertaking, promoting and facilitating high quality research in Australian Indigenous Studies

through strategies which include:

  • Identifying research areas of excellence and relevance to Australian Indigenous societies and contributing to scholarship in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies;
  • Maintaining independence in research and maintaining, reviewing and, where appropriate, modifying ethical guidelines for research to meet high standards of human rights and scholarship;
  • Identifying priorities in research and developing a research strategic plan through staff, Council, the Research Advisory Committee and other stakeholders, especially through negotiation with, and participation of, Indigenous communities;
  • Encouraging and facilitating Indigenous representation in research at all levels;
  • Publishing and promoting research to the Indigenous and wider communities;
  • Fostering scholarly collegiality and networking both formally and informally and encouraging professional development through seminars, workshops, conferences and professional courses;
  • Encouraging research endeavours that are flexible and responsive, including staff research, the offering of grants, commissioning of research and collaborative research;
  • Maintaining budget commitment to research and pursuing other sources of funding, such as consultancies and joint ventures;
  • Developing research which is integrated with the goals of the library and archive collections.

We will pursue our goal:

To develop, maintain and preserve well-documented archives and collections and to maximise access to these in line with appropriate cultural and ethical practices

through strategies which include:

  • Developing policies for archiving, digitising and conservation practice, and the provision of storage appropriate to those policies;
  • Ensuring the collections are documented in accordance with international and best practice standards, negotiating with depositors to ensure the provision of that documentation;
  • Developing the collections through on-going acquisition of material;
  • Maximising access through information retrieval systems and product development (with appropriate training available to staff);
  • Ensuring access to the collections through the development of programs of copyright clearance and community consultation;
  • Ascertaining client needs and implementing policies and practices based upon those needs;
  • Providing accurate, relevant and informative material to Indigenous communities and the general public, both national and international, and effecting the return of materials to Indigenous communities;
  • Developing information services to support research activities by staff, grantees and other researchers;
  • Researching, curating and enhancing the intellectual content of the collections.

We will pursue our goal:

To create, develop and disseminate a diverse range of products and services about Australian Indigenous cultures

through strategies which include:

  • Publishing a wide range of products, including books, music CDs and cassettes, CD-ROMs, videos and educational and other materials;
  • Writing, commissioning, developing, identifying and selecting new products;
  • Allocating adequate staffing and financial resources for product development;
  • Encouraging a team approach across programs;
  • Applying new and emerging technologies to create products across the media;
  • Developing appropriate dissemination and marketing strategies;
  • Identifying, encouraging and developing works by Indigenous authors;
  • Broadening the internet capacity to disseminate products and exchange information on a wide range of Institute services.

We will pursue our goal:

To ensure that the AIATSIS is managed efficiently and effectively in a transparent, accountable and supportive manner

through strategies which include:

  • Nurturing a culture of intellectual freedom, tolerance and respect for other people’s points of view;
  • Facilitating the functioning of Council and its committees, management and staff and other Institute stakeholders in order to enhance and maximise their respective contributions;
  • Implementing effective policy development and long-term planning strategies, financial management and support at Council, management and program levels;
  • Establishing and maintaining liaison through networks, collaboration and information exchange;
  • Ensuring and maintaining productive and democratic workplace relations;
  • Evaluating systems and activities in ways which are client-focused and underpinned by a corporate philosophy of continuous improvement;
  • Providing and maintaining optimal accommodation facilities;
  • Implementing effective staff recruitment, development and training strategies.

Priority Outcomes for AIATSIS for 1998 - 2000:

  • Develop to world standards, functional and distinctive new premises for the Institute on the Acton Peninsula;
  • Successfully occupy the new building through the development and implementation of planned change management strategies;
  • Maintain high quality research through research projects, publications, seminars, workshops and conferences, and collections development;
  • Implement a fully automated Collections Management System;
  • Develop and implement a Collections Management Plan;
  • Further develop and implement best practice copyright, cultural and intellectual property and access policies;
  • Digitise and promote the availability of the Institute’s core collections;
  • Enhance the mode of client use of the archives through the development of an agreed schedule of digital products in time for access and display at the Institute’s new premises;
  • Further develop an environment which achieves significantly increased employment of Indigenous staff and Indigenous participation in the operations and services of the Institute;
  • Work with Indigenous people and other depositors to research, document and integrate archival material in accordance with an Archives Management Plan;
  • Negotiate and implement industrial relations arrangements including certified agreements, which create a productive organisation for which people wish to work;
  • Review and implement a comprehensive Staff Training and Development Plan which enables the Institute to maximise staff skills and career opportunities;
  • Resource, develop and release a range of new products in various media, including internet and display, to meet demand up to 2000 and beyond.
  • Further develop information technology services and infrastructure to ensure a fully functional and integrated information technology system that includes intranet facilities, a help desk and a bulletin board;
  • Further improve the financial and records management systems to Executive Information Support (EIS) level;
  • Increase Institute involvement in a federation of national institutions, including collaborative relationships with other collecting institutions and community groups;
  • Develop a Service Charter that improves client focus and access for both visitor and outreach services (enhancing services for visitors/clients unable to visit Canberra.)

Functions

The functions of the Institute are set out in part 3,section 5 of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Act 1989, as follows:

to undertake and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies;

  • to publish the results of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies and to assist in the publication of the results of such studies;
  • to conduct research in fields relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies and to encourage other persons and bodies to conduct such research;
  • to assist in training persons, particularly Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders, as research workers in fields relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies;
  • to establish and maintain a cultural resource collection consisting of materials relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies
  • to encourage understanding, in the general community, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies;
  • such other functions as are conferred on the Institute by this Act;
  • to do anything else that is incidental or conducive to the performance of any of the preceding functions.

TOP OF PAGE