Dr Cat Street
Catherine (Cat) Street (she/her) has been involved in First Nations public policy and program research and evaluation in a variety of local, state and national contexts over the last twelve years.
Cat has completed projects with a range of partners and collaborators including the Northern Territory Department of Education, Charles Darwin University, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Aboriginal Investment Group, BHP, NSW Aboriginal Affairs, NSW Aboriginal Housing Office, Flinders University, WA Department of Communities and WA Department of Justice.
Cat’s primary interest is in enhancing First Nations cultural safety in research and evaluation through appropriate governance, leadership, and workforce practices. She advocates for self-determination embedded within research and evaluation designs right through to data analysis and reporting and adherence to appropriate ethics protocols. She has made significant contributions to policies and programs through ensuring that research and evaluations focus on accountability to, and benefit for, First Nations people and communities. Her work in this area was recognised by the Australian Evaluation Society in 2022, winning the Indigenous Evaluation Award for her work in theorising culturally safe governance for First Nations evaluation.
Cat has a growing track record of publications, having been published in journals such as the Evaluation Journal of Australia, Critical Studies in Education and Race, Ethnicity and Education. Cat has been providing research and evaluation leadership on a range of projects at CSI UWA since August 2023 including:
- Development of a Philanthropic Engagement Framework for Connected Beginnings (Federal Department of Education)
- Internal review of CSI’s Outcomes Measurement and Evaluation publications and resources (CSI National Office)
Qualifications
- PhD Philosophy, Charles Darwin University
- Dip Project Management, Australian Institute of Management
- MPH Public Health, Charles Darwin University
- BA Physiotherapy, La Trobe University
Areas of interest
- First Nations education
- Higher education policy analysis
Research methods
Qualitative data collection and analysis, ethics processes.
Featured publications
- Street, C., Kendall, B., McGhie, T., O’Flaherty, L. & Schaeffer, D. (2022). A culturally adaptive approach to First Nations evaluation consulting. Evaluation Journal of Australasia, 23(1) pp.6-22.
- Street, C., Guenther, J., Smith, J., Robertson, K., Ludwig, W., Motlap, S., Woodroffe, T., Ober, R., Gillan, K., Larkin, S., Shannon, V. & Maypilama, E. (2022). ‘Success’ in Indigenous higher education policy in the Northern Territory, Australia: Reclaiming purpose for power. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 27(7), pp.953-969.
- Street, C., Robertson, K., Smith, J., Guenther, J., Larkin, S., Motlap, S., Ludwig, W., Woodroffe, T., Gillan, K., Ober, R., Shannon, V. & Maypilama, E. (2022). Understanding ‘what works’: Negotiating Indigenous higher education policy analysis at the cultural interface in the Northern Territory, Australia. Critical Studies in Education, 64(3), pp.250-266.