Impact & Outcomes
The Hub's success is measured against a clear outcomes framework with specific, measurable targets. This page explains what we are working toward, how we measure progress, and what success looks like in practice.
Measuring what matters
The Hub's outcomes framework is built around six domains — employment, health, education, environment, enterprise, and governance. Each domain has specific short-term, medium-term, and long-term outcomes, with measurable indicators that allow progress to be tracked and reported.
The framework was developed through community consultation and reflects what community members themselves identified as the most important measures of success. It is not a framework imposed by government or research partners — it is a framework developed with community.
Evaluation is embedded into program delivery — not added at the end. Community feedback, participant data, and partner reporting all contribute to ongoing monitoring. Annual evaluation reports are shared with community members, partners, and funders.
Employment & Economic Participation
- • Number of First Nations people in paid employment through Hub programs
- • Number of participants completing vocational qualifications
- • Revenue generated through social enterprise activities
- • Number of new businesses established by community members
First Nations people engaged in meaningful, paid employment through Hub programs and enterprise activities.
Participants develop transferable skills and qualifications that open pathways to broader employment.
A self-sustaining enterprise ecosystem that generates community wealth independent of government funding cycles.
Health & Social Wellbeing
- • Number of community members accessing Hub health services
- • Self-reported social and emotional wellbeing scores
- • Reduction in emergency health presentations
- • Number of community members trained in mental health first aid
Community members access culturally safe health services without having to leave the Northern Goldfields.
Reduction in preventable health presentations. Improved social and emotional wellbeing across participating communities.
A community health model that is self-sustaining, culturally grounded, and capable of responding to emerging needs without external intervention.
Education & Skills Development
- • Number of young people engaged in STEM programs
- • School attendance rates among program participants
- • Number of participants progressing to further education or vocational training
- • Number of youth completing mentorship programs
Young people engage with STEM education through culturally relevant, on-Country programs.
Improved school attendance and engagement. Young people develop skills and confidence to pursue further education.
A generation of young people from the Northern Goldfields who have the skills, qualifications, and confidence to lead their communities.
Environmental Stewardship
- • Number of environmental monitoring sites established
- • Number of community members employed as environmental monitors
- • Area of land under active rehabilitation
- • Volume of Traditional Owner knowledge documented
Environmental monitoring systems deployed. Community members employed as environmental monitors.
Traditional Owner knowledge documented and integrated with CSIRO scientific data. Land rehabilitation programs underway.
A community-led environmental monitoring and land management system that protects Country for future generations.
Social Enterprise & Financial Sustainability
- • Revenue generated through bush medicine enterprise
- • Progress of waste-to-energy pilot
- • Cultural cafe operational status
- • Proportion of Hub operating costs covered by enterprise revenue
Bush medicine and waste-to-energy concepts developed and piloted.
Enterprise activities generating revenue. Cultural cafe concept operational.
Hub financially self-sustaining through enterprise revenue, reducing dependence on government funding.
Governance & Community Capacity
- • Advisory Committee meeting frequency and attendance
- • Number of community members in governance roles
- • Number of community members completing leadership development programs
- • Organisational financial health and sustainability metrics
Hub Advisory Committee established with community representation. Governance frameworks in place.
Community members taking on leadership roles within Hub governance. Capacity building programs underway.
A mature, community-governed organisation with the capacity to lead its own development without external support.
What guides our approach
These principles underpin every program decision, every partnership arrangement, and every outcome target. They are not aspirational statements — they are the operational commitments that Nyunnga Ku makes to the communities it serves.
Self-determination
Community members have the right to determine their own futures. The Hub exists to support that right — not to substitute for it. All programs are designed to build community capacity, not dependency.
Two-way learning
Western scientific knowledge and Traditional Owner knowledge are equally valid and mutually enriching. The Hub's programs are designed to integrate both — producing better outcomes than either approach alone.
Long-term thinking
The Hub is designed for the long term. Three-year funding is the starting point, not the endpoint. Every program decision is made with an eye to what will still be working in 10 and 20 years.
Accountability to community
The Hub is accountable to the communities it serves — not to government agencies, research institutions, or commercial partners. Community voice shapes all program decisions, and community members evaluate all program outcomes.
Read the Strategic Vision
Download the full Strategic Vision 2025–2028 document.