Final Report: Strengthening Community Research in ... - Ninti One

Question 7: The most useful things I have learnt so far are:Job Specific Learning Professional Development Personal Development writing surveys interviewing listening talking to local people doing research at the community being a researcher doing research with a group ofresearchers interested in learning andworking at NtariaSummary of Learning Evaluation Worksheet One responsesQuestions 1–4 indicate that many of the community researchers employed in this project had little or no idea aboutwhat ‘research’ in a broad sense meant when they began work on the project; although most had had some experiencewith outsider research in their communities.Many had at some time been a respondent or an informant, but the community researchers in this project had notpreviously been involved in the wider domain of research: in planning, designing, applying or steering research.Despite this lack of hands-on experience the community researchers all identified good skills they brought to a researchteam environment.Questions 5–7 indicate that personal development, job-related skills and life experience were all adding to theresearchers’ ability. In their own words, the researchers described essential features of their work and were aware ofhow these are used.3.4.2.1 Implications for skills development and employment from Worksheet OneThe following observations are drawn from large group discussions based on Learning Evaluation Worksheet One.Strongly positiveThe team represented good knowledge of community boundaries, kin and skin relationships, gender relationto jobs and power, bilingual communication, and deeply felt issues and undercurrents affecting servicedelivery and safety at Ntaria.Could benefit from strengtheningThe capacity for steering research could be made stronger with more access to elders and other decisionmakersMore men on the research team would bring added strength to the work.Areas of deficitCommunity researchers’ capacity to work vs. dealing with unforseen life issuesAccess to transport for getting to workSkills and ability to access and use technologyConflicting priorities and responsibilities to other roles in organisations in the communityThe workplace environmentOther agency support to extend learning and training opportunities outside employment.Final Report: Strengthening Community Research in Remote Service Delivery at Ntaria 25