When considering social impact, our focus is often on innovative ways to collect and analyse data, with reporting taking a back seat and following a set and standard template. How often do we stop and consider how accessible our report will be to diverse audiences? In this panel discussion we will talk to industry experts from government, NGO, private industry, and community backgrounds regarding what they consider when creating accessible impact reports. Join us online on Thursday 17 August for a discussion on ways to make your next report accessible to diverse audiences.
This event will include Auslan interpretation.
We look forward to seeing you there!
SIMNA Victoria Committee
MEET THE PANEL
Samantha Abbato, Director at Visual Insights People
Samantha is an experienced evaluator and trainer with more than twenty years of experience and strong methodological expertise across various qualitative and quantitative disciplines. Her academic grounding in quantitative methods is built upon a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physiology and a Master of Public Health in epidemiology and biostatistics. She has extensive qualitative training in medical anthropology (PhD, UC Berkeley). With a passion for communication and maximising evaluation use and an extensive understanding of the evaluation commissioner perspective through her work on Visual Insights organisational capacity building, Dr. Samantha Abbato can offer many case studies of the good, the bad, and the ugly of impact reporting.
Jody Barney, Executive Director at Deaf Indigenous Community Consultancy
Jody is the founder and lead consultant at Deaf Indigenous Community Consultancy Pty Ltd. Over the last 15 years she has established herself as a leading expert and advisor on First Nations Deaf and disability issues. Her work has seen her awarded with a Brenda Gabe Award from Women with Disabilities Victoria, Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity Senior Fellow, Victorian Women’s Honour Roll inductee and now a current Churchill Fellow working on the needs of Deaf and Hard of Hearing First Nations people to use their own sign language communications in the justice system of Australia. Jody’s work spans 35 years as a leading advocate, activist counsellor and consultant on raising the concerns and cultural needs of First Nations peoples communication rights.
Marie Garrubba, Assistant Director, Evidence to Action at the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)
Marie is an Assistant Director, Evidence for Action team in the Research Evaluation Branch at the NDIA. Marie leads the production of evidence informed resources and tools to support participants, families and carers with their decision making. She has over 12 years experience supporting the conduct and use of research into practice in the health and disability fields, and brings an invaluable government perspective on reporting content.
Samiha Barkat, Group Manager, Research, Evaluation and Data at Launch Housing
Samiha is a development and impact professional with over 17 years’ experience working for both the private and not-for-profit sectors in Australia and globally. She specialises in program design, monitoring and evaluation with a particular emphasis on adaptive management and is passionate about incorporating lived experience into all aspects of the impact work and making reports accessible and engaging through digital storytelling. Samiha is a Board Member of Giving Joy, a women-owned not-for-profit that provides micro-grants and mentoring to women entrepreneurs worldwide.
