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WEMBLEY WA 6913 AUSTRALIA
Biography
I am a Senior Research Scientist and leader in co-design who brings together different knowledge systems and types to deliver collaborative solutions to land and sea management at regional and national scales. Based with CSIRO Land & Water in Perth, Australia, my research frequently involves partnering with Australian Indigenous communities to co-develop methods, tools, protocols and guidelines that can facilitate understanding and inclusion of diverse knowledges, values and interests in natural resource planning and management and enterprise development.
Through applying tailored social science methodologies, I provide strategic leadership in the adoption of transdisciplinary methods and tools to realise socio-ecological sustainability. Engaging participatory and reflexive approaches I cultivate trust, respect, flexibility, and adaptability to mobilize, translate and integrate knowledge, responding to partners’ and clients’ needs in often complex socio-political environments. Applications I co-lead to weave western science and Indigenous knowledge help policy- and decision-makers better understand and engage with multiple knowledge systems, and these approaches are now being applied in the Murray-Darling Basin and in State of Environment reporting.
Over the past 15 years I've particularly enjoyed working to deliver outcomes in the fields of Indigenous ecological knowledge systems, land and sea management, knowledge networking & Indigenous livelihoods, realising impact in water allocation planning in northern Australia; the teaching of Indigenous knowledge systems in classrooms nationally; and influencing the adoption of Indigenous approaches to land management via the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Research I have led and contributed to has been further adopted by state and federal government agencies, peak industry bodies, NGOs, and Indigenous and community organisations across the domains of agriculture, education, health, water, and biodiversity.
Other Interests
Our Knowledge Our Way Guidelines
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples own and manage around 46% of Australia’s National Reserve System and have knowledge systems that have developed over thousands of generations. Researchers’ and policy-makers’ ability to work effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is central to solving some of the nation’s most complex environmental challenges and supporting alternative methods to manage the land and seascape. The Our Knowledge Our Way (OKOW) transdisciplinary science initiative produced the first Indigenous-led guidelines for best practices when working with Indigenous knowledge in caring for Country.
We worked intensively with our partners - North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance; Australian Committee for IUCN; and the National Environmental Science Program - to facilitate over 100 Indigenous contributions to the development of the Guidelines. These are the first such guidelines nationally (none are available internationally) and one of the first national examples of genuine co-design with Indigenous peoples, now recognized as the best-practice approach across the Indigenous health, welfare, business, research and other sectors.
Founded on 23 case studies submitted by Indigenous land and sea managers from across Australia, the Guidelines highlight how Indigenous knowledge is kept strong through access to Country and Indigenous cultural governance of knowledge. The key guiding principle is that Indigenous people must decide what is best practice in working with Indigenous knowledge. The Guidelines cut across four themes: strengthening Indigenous knowledge; strong partnerships; sharing and weaving knowledge; and Indigenous land and sea networks.
The outcomes of the OKOW Guidelines have made a foundational impact in setting a new standard in how to engage Indigenous peoples in partnering with science:
• The originality and successful application of this effort has resulted in immediate impact with the OKOW research approach adopted by the State of the Environment (SOE) 2021 – leading to an inaugural Indigenous Theme; new authorship and content guidelines including Indigenous authorship; and support for Indigenous-led case studies across all Themes
• The WA Government adopted the approach in the development of their Indigenous- co-authored Bring Together Walk Together Aboriginal Partnership Engagement Framework (2021) which directs the reader to engage with the Guidelines to support interpretation (https://www.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-04/BringTogetherWalkTogetherAboriginalPartnershipFramework.pdf). The Department described OKOW as ‘an exemplar for Aboriginal-led partnerships for science and planning in Australia’.
• The QLD Department of Environment and Science reference the Guidelines as a key resource in their draft Traditional Knowledge in Biodiscovery Code of Practice and Guidelines (2021).
Professional Areas
Fields of Research
Current Roles
-
Project lead
Ningaloo Indigenous Ecological Knowledge project -
Project lead
ABC/CSIRO Indigenous weather knowledge project -
Project co-lead
Larrakia-led biodiversity values of Darwin, Darwin Living Lab -
Team member
Indigenous Engagement Strategy, Transformations in Mining Economies CRC
Academic Qualifications
-
2019
PhD -The critical role of network brokers in strengthening Indigenous land and sea management in Australia
University of Western Australia -
2000
BSc(Env) Hons (Class 1)
University of Western Australia
Achievements and Awards
-
2021-2021
R&D Excellence Award: Northern Australia Water Resource Assessment
Australian Water Association's Australian Water Awards -
2020-2020
Collaboration Medal - North Australian Water Resources Assessment Team
CSIRO -
2020-2020
Land and Water Science Communication Award - Our Knowledge Our Way Guidelines
CSIRO -
2020-2020
Exemplary Leadership - Our Knowledge Our Way Guidelines
CSIRO -
2018-2018
Ruby Payne-Scott Award
CSIRO -
2014-2014
Chief Executive Study Award
CSIRO -
2012-2012
National Finalist
Fresh Science Awards
Attachments
- Our Knowledge Our Way Guidelines - Full report [pdf - 28.35MB]
- Our Knowledge Our Way Guidelines - Summary [pdf - 3.31MB]
- Gulumoerrgin-Larrakia Seasonal Calendar, Darwin region, Northern Territory [pdf - 3.37MB]
- Gooniyandi Seasonal Calendar, Margaret River, Western Australia [pdf - 2.56MB]
- Walmajarri Words from the River side, Fitzroy River, Western Australia [pdf - 3.1MB]
- Malakmalak & Matngala Plant Knowledge, Daly River, Northern Territory [pdf - 1.43MB]
- Ngan'gi Seasons Calendar, Daly River, Northern Territory [pdf - 0.82MB]
Related links
Publications
We have publications by Dr Emma Woodward