Linking Networks of Community Practice, Policy

& Research:

A Framework for Participatory Action

Research & Development

Dr. Peter DaySchool of Computing, Mathematical &

Information Sciences

Faculty of Management & Information

Sciences

Presentation outline

3 Fold:

1. Consider conceptual & practical linkages

between

Community practice

Community policy

Community research

2. Normative framework of democratic design

criteria

3. Introduce research project

You beauty!!!

Something to ponder

It is not enough to expect the location of ICTs in

public places to meet community need. Large

amounts of resources and energy are often

invested in public access with little consideration

given to the broader social context

The Lushai Hills Metaphor

Allegory

Rosenbrock, H., (1990) Machines with a purpose. Oxford: Oxford University Press

In our deliberations - what might be considered as such an alternative pathway?

How might this metaphor be of use to us?

Experiences & lessons from this trip

A synergistic trilogy

Ideally, although each field has its own parameters, goals, actors, audience and very often language, the purpose, population and performance of each are inescapably interwoven with that of the others. Each draws from, contributes to and sustains the others in a network of community services, actions, relationships, communication and outcomes.

Community Practice

Community PolicyCommunity Research

Importance of community practice

Method

For promoting policies that encourage the

planning, building and sustainability of healthy

communities

Theory

That assists in providing an understanding of the

interrelationship between the people, groups,

organizations and activities that contribute to

community life

Community practiceA generic term that describes:

• The sustained involvement of paid community workers

• A broad range of professionals who are increasingly using community work methods in their work

• Managerial attempts at reviewing, restructuring and relocating services to encourage community access

and involvement in the planning and delivery of services

• The efforts of self-managed community groups themselves

(Glen, 1993, 22)

3 approaches to community practice

Community services

Developing community organisations & services

Community development

Promoting community self-help & empowerment

Community action

Representation and promotion of collective interests

Community ICT Practice

Community services (done to)Provision of online information services, public access centres, low cost ICT provision schemes, and learning programmes

Community development (done with)Capacity building stimulate dialogue, collaboration and mutuality to strengthen social capital

Community planning or design of ICT initiatives

Community action (done by)Community communicative action, e.g. Community Networks and Community/Indy Media initiatives

Policy - help or hindrance?

Policy can create an environment that either blocks or assists the building of healthy communities

By developing an understanding of local need it is possible to develop policies and partnerships that are meaningful and relevant to people in their communities

Changing culture & mindsets

Understanding that the language of ‘best practice’ isn’t suited to community

Knowledge about community cultures and needs is required to facilitate such changes...this means engaging in meaningful dialogue

The processes of data/information collection, classification and analysis to enable the augmentation of understanding community practice and policy is the responsibility of research

More specifically, it is the responsibility of those researchers, both academics and practitioners, who form the emerging field of community communication technology research – commonly known as community informatics

Bridging Policy, Practice & Research

Community Practice

Community PolicyCommunity Research

Practice - what really happens in communities on day to day basis - real life!

Policy - sets the conditions that influence community environment

Research provides insights into, and explanations of, community events, processes and relationships

Democratic principles for community technology practice

1. CTIs must be grounded in local community values

2. The goals, activities, services and outcomes of CTIs

should meet the needs of the community

3. In addition to providing a wide range of community

services, CTIs should stimulate and promote both

community development and community action

4. Contribute to a public space for shared communication

5. Recognize and celebrate cultural diversity

6. Promote self-actualisation

7. Develop a sense of community identity with, and

ownership of, CTIs

Democratic principles for community technology policy

1.Avoid policies that establish authoritarian or

elitist social relations.

2.Encourage participatory community action

3.Invest in social capital

4.Stimulate the social fabric, or core values, of the

local community as well the local economy.

5.Promote cross-sectoral or tripartite partnerships

6.Facilitate collaborative interaction and exchange

within and between communities.

Democratic principles for community technology research

1. How is research of significance to community?

2. Communities should be involved in all stages of research

design, implementation and analysis

3. The processes and outcomes of community research should be

of benefit to community life and address community need

4. Where possible, partnerships developed between researchers

and communities should extend beyond the life of the project

5. Communities see a lot of traditional social science research as

being abstract and irrelevant

The appeal of community technologies

Within a community practice context, the appeal of community communication technology – lies not in the technology or even the information they provide access to, but with the interactions and exchanges between people that it facilitates. In other words, it is the potential for supporting communication in and between communities that makes community communication technology initiatives socially significant.

CNA - Community Network Analysis & ICTs: Bridging and

building community ties

ESRC/ DTI funded project

PACCIT Research Programme - People At the

Centre of Communication & Information Technology

Project No. RES-328-25-0012

Project Team - Collaborative partnership UoB,

SCIP & participating communities

Project research aims

To investigate the potential of network technology (including mobile telephony) as tools for building and sustaining social capital in communities To critically analyse and evaluate the impact of ICT on social network ties and cohesion by measuring community communication and information flows within and between community groups and networks

Community design processes as participatory engagement

Community activity by people that share common interests and respect their diversity

Community involvement central to identifying community need

Contribution to building community capacity to develop the skills to manage & develop community life

Community Network Analysis

Participatory Action Research project

Initial introductory phase

Enter into dialogue with communitiesPre-assessment & awareness raising

Community taster days

Community Network Analysis

3 Distinct but interrelated development & research phases:

• Community profiling/asset based mapping & social network analysis• Participatory learning workshops• Community communications space prototyping & development

Phase 1

Community Profiling

Auditing & mapping techniques, e.g. Kretzmann & McKnight’s ABCD + Greer & Hale’s Community Analysis

Information & communications needs analysis

Social Network Analysis Analysis of community network relationships

People and organisations are connected within and beyond the

locality

Intra and inter community connectivity (social)

Patterns of information and communication flows & forms of media

How ICTs influence these links & relationships (if they do)

Phase 2Participatory learning workshops (PLWs)

ICT learning environments - Something more than just training

From - “OK I/we can use the Internet……how does this contribute towards my/our community?”

Capacity building

Not just to use ICT but to critically consider how they might contribute

To building, supporting & sustaining community networking & social capital

Building & managing community

To – “How can we use ICT in & for OUR community?”

Phase 3

Community communications prototype

• Community needs meets systems design

• Designers, who will be drawn from both technology experts (Uni & SCIP) and community participants, will be involved in project from Day 1

• We have budgeted for a range of applications but wish to avoid pre-judging community need

• Participatory action research informing participatory design & development

• Method as tool for both knowledge and community development

Thanks for listening

To discuss this presentation or

related issues, please contact me at:

p.day@btinternet.com

What do we mean by community? (3 interrelated senses)

Something in common

Community valuessolidarity - inspires affection & loyalty through mutuality and co-operationparticipation - individuals contribute to and engage in collective life & aspirations of communitycoherence - connect individual & community …understanding of self and social world

Active community - e.g. groups, orgs. & networks

Valorise diversity

In summary

Community = an active group, or groups, of people with something in common, who, from a shared value-base, valorise diversity & work to improve the quality of life for the collective and individual alike.

Requires shared value base with policy

Community development

Involvement of more

people & organisations

Involvement of ‘involvement ready’ people & organisations

The planning process

-early stages

The local population

Implementation

- early stages

The planning process

- later stages

Implementation

- later stages

TimeInvolving citizens & community

groups

Personal details

•Co-director community technology research SEAKE Centre @ University of Brighton•Visiting Senior Research Fellow @ CQU•Director Sussex Community Internet Project (SCIP)•Co-author of IBM/CDF commissioned ‘Down-to-Earth’ or COMMIT report•PhD in field of Community Informatics•Digital City evaluator – OSI Europe•Co-Chair CIRN•Former Eastbourne Borough Councillor & community activist