Transcript institutional contexts

Institutional matching and
bridging networks for improved
livelihood options
Yiheyis Maru, Jocelyn Davies, Hannah Hueneke, Kostas Alexandridis, Paul Box, Robyn Grey Gardner,
Vanessa Chewings
CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems
Desert Knowledge CRC
Desert Knowledge Symposium 6 November 2008, Alice Springs
Warning : this presentation may contain photos of people who have passed away
Anmatjere region
• 1150 people
– 85% Aboriginal
• Dispersed settlements
• Strong local languages
– 50% speak Anmatyerr at home,
10% Warlpiri, 10% Arrernte
• Diverse economies
– art, community services,
customary (hunting, gathering),
horticulture, mining, traveller
trade.
The issue
•
•
•
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Low labour force participation
Aboriginal aspirations for jobs
Aboriginal employment high only in some sectors
Regional economic development requires local
employment
• Mining and horticulture likely to expand
• The sustainable livelihoods
approach
– People have valued ends
– People use strategies to achieve
these
– People use strategies within
institutional contexts
– People who achieve their valued
ends build on their assets
– People have varying degrees of
influence over the ‘rules’
– People’s assets are subject to
risks
• Institutions the ‘rules of
the game’
– the ‘software’ of a social
system
– the ways people operate
– how to behave to be
considered as behaving
in a socially acceptable
way
– what makes interactions
predictable and safe
– (not physical things or
organisations)
Left to right: Anita Randall at Tangentyere Jobshop in Ti Tree; Daniel O’Connor, grape farm manager, the Block; Alfred Albrecht Morton, Pmara Jutunta CDEP coordinator, in the workshop; Deborah Scrutton, research assistant and former Anmatjere Community
Government Councillor, at Alyuen; Trevor Glenn in the Pmara Jutunta CDEP workshop; Gerry Price with children at Wilora.
Cooking
Cleaning
Looking after kids
Bushtucker
Ceremony
Top to bottom :
Elizabeth
Inkamala with her
grandchildren at
Wilora; Cedric
Cook and Lewis
Nelson working
on a car at Ti
Tree; Mary-Anne
Stirling, office
manager, and
Tracy Glenn at
Pmara Jutunta;
Jennifer Ross
and Annette Allan
packing lunches
at the Ti Tree
Aged Care
Centre.; Night
Patrol workers at
Pmara Jutunta, l
to r Monty Moore,
Janie Cook,
Davey Presley,
Paul Glen,
Rosemary
Tilmouth;
Terrizetta Gorey
in Pmara Jutunta
for the school
holidays
Sport
Looking after old people
Gardening
Art
Vehicles and mechanics
non-Aboriginal
Aboriginal
Music
Trees and plants (grapes)
Looking after disabled people
Cattle work
Council
Training
School
Looking after country
Computer work
Youth work
Job network
Health care
Ranger work
Family care
Night Patrol
Work in Aged care
Teaching
Retail-shop work
Women’s centre
Tourism
Police
Work in child care
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10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Percentage of interviewees by Aboriginal status
90
Key factors affecting meaningful access to paid
employment
Left to right: Edna Snape, Aged Care
Coordinator, with Paddy Willis at Ti Tree
Aged Care Centre; Terrizetta Gorey in
Pmara Jutunta for the school holidays;
the Anmatjere Regional Economic
Development Committee meets in Ti
Tree.
Our preliminary analysis
1. Capacity
2. Accessibility
3. Job suitability & availability
4. Motivation
Local people’s analysis in workshop
1. Knowledge & understanding
2. Role Models
3. Two laws, one set of rules, working
together
Bridging networks to improve access to jobs
• Social networks relied on for
jobs
“See me and I will introduce them to key people”
“Come [here] and talk with me and I'll talk to the boss”
“Go talk to [this person] or [that person].”
“Need to get picked by [that person].”
“I'd invite him. Maybe just join him in, start work. Someone's working:
someone might ask you,[then] you can start. That's what everybody does.
Someone invites you.”
“Tell them to talk to supervisor or boss.”
(various interviews)
• But, social networks are very
separate
• Need to support bridges
“What would you tell
someone who wanted to
work in your job?”
(interview question)
Two sets of
‘institutions’
workplace
institutions
?
Aboriginal
institutions
Institutional matching for improved livelihood
options – ‘Two laws, one set of rules,
working together’
Workplace institutions
Emerging shared institutions
(ways of doing things, rules)
developed by a process of institutional matching
Local Aboriginal institutions
Emerging bridges, matching institutions
Individuals that wear two hats, work two ways
Organisations – development, government, training
Industries - Pastoral industry; community service sector
Agreement processes, for mining, horticulture
Threats to institution matching: ‘the churn’
“We have to keep on changing, different rules, the way we live. The rules are now changing, and
the laws we have to obey, how we have to live and work. Our culture never changes, it’s always
the same. … there’s been changes in the government too … NT government as well, change
rules, and we have to keep changing? How are we gonna live then? See these rules change, and
the whole system you know. We’ll never be resting in peace. How can we live a normal life? Rules
changing overnight. Why can’t there be one set of rules, for people to follow, especially for people
who are at work…We want simple rules to live by, so that it’s easy. We hear too many stories, too
many stories on the media, from the paper, or information … we want something that will make life
better, you know. Just something simple.” (focus group participant)
• The sustainable livelihoods
approach
– People have valued ends
– People use strategies to achieve
these
– People use strategies within
institutional contexts
– People who achieve their valued
ends build on their assets
– People have varying degrees of
influence over the ‘rules’
– People’s assets are subject to
risks
• Institutions the ‘rules of
the game’
– the ‘software’ of a social
system
– the ways people operate
– how to behave to be
considered as behaving
in a socially acceptable
way
– what makes interactions
predictable and safe
– (not physical things or
organisations)
Left to right: Anita Randall at Tangentyere Jobshop in Ti Tree; Daniel O’Connor, grape farm manager, the Block; Alfred Albrecht Morton, Pmara Jutunta CDEP coordinator, in the workshop; Deborah Scrutton, research assistant and former Anmatjere Community
Government Councillor, at Alyuen; Trevor Glenn in the Pmara Jutunta CDEP workshop; Gerry Price with children at Wilora.
Thankyou
Steering Committee members
Central Land Council, former Anmatjere Community Government
Council, NT Department of Local Government and Housing, NT
Department of Business, Economic and Regional Development,
DEET, DEEWR, Centrefarm, Tangentyere Jobshop, Central Desert
Shire
Field research support: Maryanne Stirling, Deborah Scrutton, Gerry
Price, Malcolm Ross
Photos: Robyn Grey-Gardner and Hannah Hueneke