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There is opportunity for universities to actively engage with Aboriginal communities to participate, conduct and ideally lead responsible research that attends to community priorities and issues. The Health from the Grassroots (Grassroots) project sought to address an ongoing mismatch between university-defined and community-defined priorities in rural northern New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Grassroots, led by Aboriginal staff of the University Centre for Rural Health (UCRH), aimed at engaging Aboriginal communities in conversations to inform research priorities. The Grassroots project was a true representation of collaborative research led by and for Aboriginal people. The team designed a local survey conducted yarning sessions with community members and used this information to visualize report findings. Community members were highly engaged in the consultation process and the "rich picture" continues to be used to further conversations about evolving health and research priorities. The Aboriginal research team identified strengths and challenges faced by communities and health services in the region and centred community in decision-making for project design and direction. Challenges encountered include limited resources and time for team members to devote to the project outside of their substantive paid positions. This paper describes the project vision, implementation, and research team lessons in the first years. Meaningful consultation to inform research action arose from the team's deep-rooted relationships and identities as members of the community in which we live and work. Research priorities identified through the Grassroots project have been integrated into the ongoing work of the UCRH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finding Your Way is a shared decision-making resource created with and for Aboriginal People in New SouthWales, Australia, in 2021. It is the only culturally adapted shared decision-making resource for Aboriginal People in Australia and one of few examples developed with First Nations people internationally. A two-round modified e-Delphi approach, incorporating yarning techniques, was used to gather expert opinions and reach a consensus on the capabilities (knowledge and skills) required to effectively use Finding Your Way and engage in shared decision-making with Aboriginal People. A set of 29 predefined capabilities were gleaned from the research evidence and a yarning session, forming the basis of the e-Delphi process. In total, 138 panel members completed Round 1 of the e-Delphi process between January 19, 2023 and January 27, 2023, and 113 completed Round 2 between February 9, 2023 and February 20, 2023. The panel member retention rate was 82% across the two e-Delphi rounds, and the consensus threshold was 75% strongly agree for each capability. Consensus was reached for 10 capabilities, and a learning map was developed to reflect Aboriginal ways of valuing, being, knowing and doing as represented in the 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning: Aboriginal Pedagogy framework (New South Wales Department of Education, n. d.). Cultural imagery was used to create the learning map to present the foundational knowledge and skills required to use Finding Your Way in a symbolic and non-linear way. The results signal the importance of navigating two worlds--working through Aboriginal knowledge and processes to generate cultural responsiveness and safety at the intersection of traditional cultural knowledge and the Western paradigm of shared decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]