Community-University Collaborations: - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Community-University Collaborations: Collective identities and politics of knowledge creation

Jenny Cave

Tourism and Hospitality Management

Presentation for CARN-Waikato

27 May 2015Slide2

Overview

Aim

Positionality

Literature

University-community

boundaries

– politics

of knowledge

creation

Collective identities - new

thinking on collaborative

action

Issues

arising

Case example – issues that arise when cross university /

community

boundaries

ConclusionsSlide3

1. Aim (proposition)

Proposition, that:

Community – university research collaboration relationships - between researchers, organisations, community groups and participants - are

shaped by and actively shape the politics of knowledge creation

Questions:

What are the politics and issues that arise?

Ways to re-think collaborative research to overcome these issues?Slide4

2. Positionality

Anthropology / archaeology

Audience advocate

Change agent – children CDP

Experience of NFPs ‘set up to fail’

Social change

BRCCS I, II,

eSoc SciResearch stance: Community driven – University responsive; Phenomenographic, ethnographicSocial constructionist to critical theoristSlide5

Research context

Scholars

based in universities

who are also

members

of

communities

Regularly venture beyond the formal research spaces of the academyEnter into constructionist or critical collaborative research with others working in ‘the community’But in so doing engage in political actionSlide6

3.a Literature - Politics of knowledge creation?

“

Politics

is a precious thing, a fragile form of life and one of the chief means through which society is achieved. It is also necessarily a hesitant entity as it

is highly performative

”

Nigel Thrift (2003)Slide7

Engagement with activism

CAR engagement with communities at the margins to effect social change (Gilbert

&

Masucci

2008)

Goals of ‘relevance’ and ‘criticality’

Challenge social, cultural and economic inequalitiesChallenge normative practices of dominating power (Routledge 2009)

Nurture creative interactions

Create inclusive participatory and anti-hierarchical spaces of action

Become engaged in activism, whether intentionally or not (Routledge 2009)Slide8

Collaboration through activism

Activist researchers

C

onnect with ‘resisting others’

C

ommunities, groups, social movements, or nongovernment organizations

C

hallenge normative practices of dominating power Connect through critical collaboration and CARActivists try to:

Create inclusive participatory and anti-hierarchical spaces of action

N

urture creative interaction with ‘resisting others’

D

irect action acting without recourse to external authorities (Johnston, 2010)Slide9

3.b Ways to re-think collaborative research

Collaboration -

open to learning and understanding from others

rather than judging or seeking to uncover ‘the truth’

May mean

Venturing into the ‘wild’

The ‘experiment'

For (being in ) the worldCounter mapping

H

ybrid collectives

“By actively engaging and critically reflecting on our place(s) in the world we are more able to perform research in creative and constructive ways that resist rather than reinforce dominating power structures” (Hubbard 1999, 197)Slide10

Activism in the academy

‘How

and

in what

ways does the concept of

collaboration assist

(or not) social science practice at

the University of Waikato?’To ask:1. What is collaborative research?2.

What

might be ‘new’ thinking on collaboration

?

3. When

does inter-disciplinary research work?

Key note symposia:

Peer to peer; supervisor-student; university- community; cross-cultural collaborations

Today - look at ‘ways to rethink community-university collaboration’ Slide11

Venturing into ‘the wild’

In crossing the divide:

Scholars who venture beyond the formal research spaces of the academy

Enter into critical collaborative research with others to work in ‘the wild’ (

Callon

&

Rabeharisoa

2003).In so doing:Connect with ‘resisting others’ who are already making new worlds for themselvesSlide12

The ‘Experiment’ - Interactive workshop-bus trip

An

experimental researcher

takes an

‘.. .open

, concerned and connected stance and a readiness to explore rather than judge, giving what is nascent and not fully formed some room to move and grow’ (Gibson-Graham 2008:20

)

‘… adopts a stance of …. open to what can be learned from what is happening on the ground’(Gibson-Graham &

Roelvink

2010:342

)

Community gardeners and researchers

Travelled to several places to reflect upon and discuss gardening practices Slide13

Expand possibilities for (being in) the world

Anti-globalisation movement

Community-university hybrid research collective - technologies for dialogue, food markets, tents, participants and their networks

Purposely moved away from a politics that aims to uncover and resist neoliberal ideology because - discourses of neoliberalism do not necessarily

generate alternative knowledge

and

possibilities for ‘being in’ the world

Over time – became more than a critical observer - ‘….. changed ‘habits of thinking and trained me to appreciate the diverse economic interventions and alternatives around the world…’ (

Roelvink

2010:117).Slide14

Affective politics of possibilities – counter mapping

C

oncept of ‘an affective politics of possibilities’

S

cholarship about activism

Examines “ both the affects and emotions that are generated by political organising. It should engage with the excitement and camaraderie of activism, as well as the ambivalences and disagreements”

Brown (2007, 203)

Concept of counter-mappingMaps both democratic promises and antidemocratic realities of participatory actionMichael Brown and Larry Knopp

(2008)

Dalton and Mason-

Deese

2012Slide15

Hybrid research collectives

An

assemblage of

people that

, through research, increases

possibilities

(

Callon & Rabeharisoa 2003)Produces alternative ways of living, thinking and knowing

Goes beyond and

actively

challenges normative practices of

dominating

power Gibson-Graham and

Roelvink

(2009

)Slide16

Role of the academic in hybrid collectives

Primarily of

enabler or facilitator who works collaboratively with diverse communities

(Fuller

and

Kitchin

, 2004)

Rather than attempting to bridge the supposed divide between the academy and the community or becoming ‘activists’ in the traditional sense

Exercises academic

capacities in a performative way

Brings location

, networks and knowledge together

Works with

others in a critical collaborative mannerSlide17

3.c Issues arising - community/university knowledge creation

Problem definition

Driven by the necessities of solving a problem

Not because you are told to do it, or it is a model that works elsewhere

Ideological affinity

Ideological affinity

Power and

control

Ambivalence

Common problems / theoretical frames shared by members of the group

Role clarity

Complementarity of interest and/or expertise

Everyone clearly has a valuable role to play

And needs to play it for the collaboration to work

Mutual respect, commitment to hard work and meeting deadlines

Worthy outcomes

Delivers something worthwhile, academically, socially, culturally

Motivates, drives commitment of all involved (Johnson

, 2010

)Slide18

4. Experiences of collaborative action: Working between worldviews - hybrid collective

Began

as a

developmental project

to design a highly

interactive and

commercial tourism attraction

advocacy for Pasifika social and economic redressShifted over time to research the factors within families, communities and Pacific culture that inhibit

and enable cultural enterprise (such

as tourism

) (Cave et al. 2003

)

A

steering group

of Pacific

elders oversaw the work, specifying a

set of

principles to guide its progress and

approving project

plans.Slide19

Working between worldviews

Mutuality

Approach

Co-construction of knowledge

Multiple cultures,

multi-sited

ethnography

Pasifika diaspora (Cave, 2009)From the outset situated in a ‘

between worlds’

framework (

Gegeo

2001

;

Hviding

2003)

Create

open but bounded spaces

within which

to dialogue across and within

cultures – ‘

teu

la

va

’ (

Anae

, 2010)

C

ollective

identity

formed to

achieve mutual

understanding across 5 communities, the academy and pan-Pacific advocacy on issues of cultural enterprise development

10 studies, 10

yr

relationship

Conscious Activism Slide20

Issues arising

Problem

definition

At times the project was driven

by the necessities of solving a

problem

Phase 1 Consultancy – concept and feasibility study – common purpose

Phase 2 Aspirations – split into ethnic / pan Pasifika factions, agreements abandoned, highly politicised, AREDS/WCC - fluidPhase 3 Community capacity – deep and enduring alliances

Phase 4 Writing and reflections

Developed a model specific to this relationship

Hybrid

Activism highest level in Phase 1 - focussed outcome. New Lyn Mall, Corbans Estate workshops,

fale

, festival, funding from WCC

WPB collected, analysed and interpreted data, wrote results, reviewed reports

Ideological affinity

Grew deeper from outsider to insider/outsider; increased activism

Phase 4 difficult because people changed, except for Cook Island sister, Niuean brother and cultural angels (bilingual, 5 communities)

A

ctivism in community - extra meetings to plan specific projects

A

cademic activism BRCSS Scholarships,

Talanoa

series, Pacific

C

ommitteeSlide21

Ideological affinity

Ethnicity

became an issue in Phase 2 (white, blonde, Anglo-Euro

)

Precedence

for Pasifika to do

development of PIBCC

Negotiated new direction and co-creation with WPBPhase 3 business vs culture issue emerged, redefined enablers and inhibitors of cultural enterprise – alternative economies

Power and control

Phase

2 work

and shifting ground. Agreements broken. New direction required.

WCC negotiations for $ WPB, land / building- Corbans Estate, salary – arts/culture coordinator, annual Festival, weekly workshops and funds for Mammas’

Pan-Pasifika meetings boycotted. Ethnic-specific meetings very small at first, grew in numbers and breadth of age over

time = Resistance

Phase

3 communities drew on my expertise

, ‘seniority’,

work experience and the cultural

angels to

challenge the status quo within own communities. Slide22

AmbivalenceMismatch of timetables academic / cultural

activities.

Common

problems / theoretical frames shared by members of the group

Steering group and research team had common awareness /beliefs of theory

Negotiated problem definition with ethnic communities and WPB, took

time

Role clarityComplementarity of interest and/or expertise

Phase 1 Expertise was clear – Arrow International / Steering Group

Everyone in UOW and Steering Group research

t

eam had

a

clear

role to

play

Phase 2 unravelled because of refusal to engage – so collaboration broke down for a few months whilst the project was renegotiated

Roles reconstituted and each study redefined with each community group

Ethnic reps played key role - presenting, interpreting, writing

and review

Mutual respect, commitment to hard work and meeting deadlines

W

orked well for the studies and in the research team.

Dates and times became fluid for ethnic communities- 9 began, 5 continued for the durationSlide23

Worthy outcomesDelivers something worthwhile, academically, socially, culturally

Feasibility study is

well

known. Used as model for many other projects

The 10 studies helped each community, and WPB build a case for their respective projects

Each group had copy of each study. Verbal results delivered for each one.

Academic – PhD. 5 journal articles

. Emerald EFMD Award 2011 Outstanding thesis award Motivates, drives commitment of all involved

The core group continued to be motivated, but

dropped

away

to

be steering group plus JBJC

PhD of less interest, but community edited verbatim transcripts in the thesis continue to be accessed. Thesis downloaded 1,474 times since 2009. Mainly in Auckland and the US. Was downloaded 600 times in the first six months – a record!

JBJC Advocated for 10

yrs

for

WPB with

WCC, MPIA, Pacific Business Trust.

Direct input into WCC Pacific Strategic Plan 2009-2015.

Trained

PBT business advisors – national team.

Mutuality

Principles

used in the HRC Pacific research ethics document (unattributed)Slide24

Conclusions:

Have outlined

Literatures in support of activism within community-university research relationships

Some alternative ways of enacting politics of knowledge creation

Proposed collective identities in various forms as - new ways to think about CAR

Issues arising from the practice of community/university knowledge creation

Some of my experience with the politics

Would like to support the

proposition that:

“Community – university research collaborations, as relationships - between researchers, organisations, community groups and participants, are shaped by and actively shape the politics of knowledge creation”Slide25

Thank you for listening

What has been your experience?

Questions for me?