State Govt - Tourism Foundations Pilot for Aboriginal Corporations - Statewide, WA

Client: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation & Attraction (DBCA)

Year: 2026

Project Overview

DBCA engaged Wander to support the development of a pilot tourism readiness program for Aboriginal Corporations across WA.

Recognising a gap in access to foundational tourism and business knowledge, DBCA sought a practical and culturally appropriate program that would help participants better understand tourism opportunities and make informed decisions about potential involvement in the visitor economy.

Importantly, the program was designed to support future strategic planning conversations by building a shared understanding of tourism, business structures and industry fundamentals, ensuring participants could engage confidently in future discussions and decision-making processes.

Wander was engaged to design and develop four core modules, including three learning modules and one reflection module, alongside the supporting resources, facilitation materials and evaluation tools required to pilot the program and inform future delivery across Western Australia.

The Challenge

The program needed to strike a careful balance between education and strategic intent. Rather than encouraging participation in tourism, the objective was to equip Aboriginal Corporations with the knowledge required to make informed decisions about whether tourism aligned with their aspirations, priorities and capacity.

As a pilot initiative with potential for broader rollout, the program also needed to be flexible enough to support future delivery across different Countries, regions and communities, while remaining relevant to participants with varying levels of tourism experience, business knowledge and organisational maturity.

To support long-term scalability, the learning materials and facilitator resources needed to be comprehensive and intuitive, enabling consistent delivery by facilitators with different levels of experience and familiarity with the content.

Wander's Approach

Wander developed four interconnected modules focused on tourism readiness, business understanding and informed participation in future strategic planning conversations.

The program explored:

• Tourism fundamentals and industry awareness

• Business structures and operating models

• Regional tourism insights and visitor data

• Reflection, learning consolidation and future considerations

  
  

To create consistency throughout the program, Wander developed a thematic framework centred on water and waterways, using familiar concepts and analogies to connect learning outcomes across each module while grounding discussions in place, Country and shared understanding.

Wander's outputs included:

• Program design and content development

• Learning frameworks, session planning and activity design

• Facilitator guides and delivery resources

• Participant workbook design

• Custom infographics and visual learning tools

• Presentation design

• Pre- and post-program evaluation tools

• Facilitation activities and engagement methodologies

  
  

Jade also co-facilitated the pilot delivery of Modules 1 and 2 alongside DBCA project leads, supporting participant engagement, gathering feedback and contributing to the evaluation of the program's effectiveness.

The Outcome

The project delivered a pilot-ready tourism readiness program supported by comprehensive facilitator resources, participant materials, evaluation frameworks and professionally designed communications tools.

Participant feedback demonstrated increased confidence and the varied facilitation activities and learning framework (water anaologies) were particularly well received.

The project highlights Wander's ability to combine strategic thinking, culturally informed engagement, evaluation design and communications expertise to create practical programs that build knowledge, confidence and informed participation in future planning and decision-making processes.

Client Testimonial

"We recently engaged The Wander Collective to support our work in Tourism across Aboriginal Regional Corporations, with a strong focus on meaningful engagement and culturally appropriate program design. Their approach was respectful, considered, and grounded in a genuine understanding of community priorities and governance structures.

They demonstrated a strong ability to build trust, facilitate productive conversations, and translate community insights into practical, well-structured program outcomes. Their work has strengthened our engagement processes and ensured programs are better aligned to local aspirations and capacity.

We would confidently recommend them for any work requiring thoughtful engagement and effective program design in Aboriginal contexts."