A Blog Series
At TNC, we are always thinking about better ways to help our clients gather the data that they need. We never want to become wedded to a narrow, rigid set of methods. Sometimes, this process leads us to try out new methods that we have not tried before. At other times, it is more about tweaking the methods we have known for years to come up with a variation that meets the needs of a specific situation.
Being open to new ways of gathering data is especially important in the context of our ongoing efforts to build an approach to community research that is ant-racist, fosters equity and inclusion, and advances reconciliation. A great new report by Chakma, Booth and Johnson, entitled “Expanding our Understanding of Evidence for Meaningful Participation” has inspired us to reflect on the methods we use. It includes a rubric that is designed to assess the quality of evidence on the effectiveness of participation. In addition to conventional standards, like triangulation, methodology, and validation, this report encourages us to think about our research methods in terms of the the degree to which they meet three additional standards:
Representation directly examines which voices are included and whose perspectives are centered to ensure diversity. This avoids extraction and tokenism.
Power analysis interrogates underlying root causes and systemic dynamics influencing interventions. It questions whose interests prevail.
Interrogating biases prompts reflection on unarticulated assumptions on what constitutes value and why certain measures dominate evidence hierarchies. This uncovers exclusionary practices.” (Chakma, Booth, and Johnson, 2024)
Inspired by this report, we are launching a new blog series in which we will be sharing some examples of the ways in which we are incorporating innovative methods (or innovative ways of using traditional methods) into our work. Each of these posts will describe a methodological challenge we faced in a particular project, the strategy we used to address that challenge, and how we see this method aligning with the rubric proposed by Chakma and colleagues. Each blog will also share what we were able to learn using this method, and offer a few tips for those interested in trying out a similar approach.
In the first instalment, we are focusing on a method we call the Reflection Hike. Read more here.