In 2021, the Maranguka Initiative is the largest data-driven, community-led project in Australia and has resulted in reduced crime, particularly among young people, increased safety, millions of dollars in justice savings, and new economic investment for Bourke.  

 Maranguka has become Australia’s lighthouse initiative for community and data-led place-based change and is the first major Justice Reinvestment Initiative in Australia. Work being done on the ground is unified by Bourke’s ‘Growing our Kids Up Safe, Smart and Strong Strategy.’ Central to this work is data access, sharing and storytelling guided by the principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty and the leadership of Maranguka and the Bourke Tribal Council.   

Seer Data & Analytics is working in partnership with Maranguka to support the initiative by automating data access and data sharing from 15 data contributors into the Maranguka data collection. Data contributors include NSW Health, NSW Education, NSW Communities & Justice, NSW Police, Department of Social Services as well as services and not-for-profits operating in Bourke.  

The result is the Palimaa Data Platform, a data infrastructure platform for access, analysis, collaboration, sharing and secure storage of data contributed to Maranguka in one place. ‘Palimaa’ meaning horizon ‘Where the Sky Meets the Land’, is allowing Bourke people to drive forward their community transformation vision of better outcomes & results for children, young people and families. 

Kowa and Seer support the Maranguka team and their partners in Bourke with self-service data ingestion, data visualisation and storytelling, guided by the principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty and with authority and legitimacy provided by Bourke Tribal Council.   

Maranguka’s Palimaa Data Platform empowers the community of Bourke to respond rapidly to changing circumstances evidenced by data. Data is reviewed regularly in collaborative working group meetings attended by cross-service community leaders and stakeholders. 

Actions taken as a result of the data collaboration include refinement of existing service delivery and programs, ideation and mobilisation of new initiatives, community member and stakeholder engagement and relationship building, and the development of new, sustainable funding models. 

The format of regular community data collaboration also ensures that the narrative is controlled by the community and local knowledge is at the heart of the decision-making process. 

Creating and maintaining an environment of trust and inclusion that supports the systems- change vision is at the heart of Maranguka’s Palimaa Data Platform. Access to and sovereignty over community data underpins the powerful community collaborations and actions coming out of Maranguka’s working groups and partnerships.  

In harnessing the power of data, Maranguka has created a landmark example of community leadership and collaboration as they work towards their mission of ensuring no one gets left behind in Bourke.  

Maranguka’s Palimaa Data Platform empowers the community of Bourke to respond rapidly to changing circumstances evidenced by data. Data is reviewed regularly in collaborative working group meetings attended by cross-service community leaders and stakeholders. 

Australian Financial Review:
How Bourke Found that Big Data Doesn’t Have to be Evil

Alister Ferguson talks about the leadership, aspiration and drive in communities for better outcomes and change. “Add that to government data and smart technology and you’ve got a really profound way to get that community spirit pouring into a useful direction.” Read the full article here >>

The Maranguka Community Hub case study is featured in the Australian Data Strategy.

Learn more about the Australian Data Strategy and what it means for Australian Communities here >>

Grassroots data sharing empowers ​​communities to change the system.

By giving communities governance over their data through data sharing, all collaborators can come together to determine which stories matter most, and how they are told, writes Kristi Mansfield. Read the full Pro Bono feature article here >>

Australia’s Data Front Door – The Foil podcast 

In this episode of The Foil podcast – Australia’s Data Front Door – hear from Andrew Lalor – Assistant Secretary, Data & Digital, at Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet about the development and future vision of the Australian Data Strategy. 

The strategy recognises publicly held data as a key driver of the future economy, and sets in place a vision for a national ecosystem of data that is accessible, reliable, relevant, and easily used – as part of a whole-of-economy endeavour to become a modern, data-driven society by 2030.