Linking Networks of Community Practice, Policy & Research:

Linking Networks of Community Practice, Policy & Research: A Framework for Participatory Action Research & Development Dr. Peter Day School of Computing, Mathematical & Information Sciences Faculty of Management & Information Sciences

Presentation outline • 3 Fold: • Consider conceptual & practical linkages between • Community practice • Community policy • Community research • Normative framework of democratic design criteria • 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 Community Practice 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 Policy Community 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 practice • A 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 • 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 Community Practice Community Policy Community Research

Democratic principles for community technology practice • CTIs must be grounded in local community values • The goals, activities, services and outcomes of CTIs should meet the needs of the community • In addition to providing a wide range of community services, CTIs should stimulate and promote both community development and community action • Contribute to a public space for shared communication • Recognize and celebrate cultural diversity • Promote self-actualisation • Develop a sense of community identity with, and ownership of, CTIs

Democratic principles for community technology policy • Avoid policies that establish authoritarian or elitist social relations. • Encourage participatory community action • Invest in social capital • Stimulate the social fabric, or core values, of the local community as well the local economy. • Promote cross-sectoral or tripartite partnerships • Facilitate collaborative interaction and exchange within and between communities.

Democratic principles for community technology research • How is research of significance to community? • Communities should be involved in all stages of research design, implementation and analysis • The processes and outcomes of community research should be of benefit to community life and address community need • Where possible, partnerships developed between researchers and communities should extend beyond the life of the project • 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 onsocial 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 communities • Pre-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 2 • Participatory 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 values • solidarity - inspires affection & loyalty through mutuality and co-operation • participation - individuals contribute to and engage in collective life & aspirations of community • coherence - 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

Involving citizens & community groups Time The planning process - later stages The planning process -early stages Implementation - later stages Implementation - early stages Involvement of more people & organisations Involvement of ‘involvement ready’ people & organisations Community development The local population

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

Linking Networks of Community Practice, Policy & Research: