Borrowing an expert to find solutions
When the successful and expanding National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) needed Information Technology expertise, Jawun, a not-for-profit organisation connected them with secondees from KPMG and Westpac.
When an organisation becomes successful, it tends to expand but with expansion comes increased needs and complications.
The National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) is a major training institute with multiple programs, dozens of staff and hundreds of Developing Artists (DAs).
It was awarded a new building in 2011 and chose that opportunity to upgrade its Information Technology (IT) processes, a difficult but necessary step toward smoother administration, improved marketing, and to support DA learning and development.
Help came via Jawun, a not-for-profit organisation which matches expertise with need, and their secondee program. A Secondee is a highly experienced and skilled worker ‘borrowed’ usually for a six week period, to help an organisation meet a need or develop and complete a project.
The appropriate skills to help NAISDA with their expansion were found in KPMG secondee, Gabor Sirko.
Gabor worked with Executive Director Kim Walker and a range of other staff to fully understand the NAISDA model and then define its IT and website needs for the next five years.
Kim said that there wasn’t sufficient financial resources in the NAISDA budget to secure Gabor’s amazing expertise.
In August 2015, NAISDA recruited another secondee, Dragan Beocanin from Westpac, to implement a portion of the IT roadmap Gabor had started.
Dragan researched the costs and capabilities of different options available, working with Kim Walker and staff to rapidly develop a proposal for the NAISDA Board. The board approved the proposal which included the purchase and implementation of new IT infrastructure. Dragan oversaw within-budget purchasing and correct installation, and trained key staff to use the new systems according to their needs.
The upgrade brought a number of important transformations to NAISDA’s operation and efficiency. Staff and students alike could easily access enrolment, training, assessment and reporting needs and the entire system became faster and more secure.
Kim said that Dragan had delivered on his brief and provided exactly what NAISDA needed.
“The Jawun secondees that worked with NAISDA gave the organisation the means to scope, plan and implement an IT system that has proven invaluable in creating a more efficient and more satisfying working environment,” Kim said.
“And they also enabled a clearer map of future needs.”
Find out more
The Australian Government is committed to working with Indigenous leaders, organisations and communities to set priorities and deliver practical projects which promote Indigenous ownership and responsibility in their respective regions under the banner of Empowered Communities.
Empowered Communities is an initiative of Indigenous leaders from eight regions across the country, including the Central Coast of NSW, brought together by Jawun Corporate Partnerships in 2013.
Jawun is a not-for-profit organisation which brings together corporate, government and philanthropic organisations with Indigenous people to enable real change.