Community-Based Participatory Research & Programming in Northern Uganda

Reflecting on the Realities of Using a CommunityBased Participatory Approach to Research and Programming in Northern Uganda MEREDITH A. WHITLEY, ADELPHI UNIVERSITY

ALICIA J. JOHNSON, UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, KNOXVILLE

OUR DISCUSSION TODAY • We will explore the challenges we faced as mainstream academics pursuing this community-based participatory approach, including the effective and ineffective strategies we used to try to overcome these challenges

• Our goal: To stimulate an honest and open discussion about the realities of community-based participatory research and programming, especially in developing countries

THE PROJECT: THE COMMUNITY • Uganda – Small country in east Africa that gained independence from British colonial rule in 1962

THE PROJECT: THE COMMUNITY •

Northern Uganda: Region recovering from several decades of conflict • •

Rule of Idi Amin in 1970s Civil war between LRA and Ugandan government from 1986-2007

THE PROJECT: THE COMMUNITY •

Gender roles:

• •

•

Prior to conflict, women were subordinate to male counterparts During years of conflict, patriarchal structure shifts, with opportunity for women to re-negotiate power and decision-making roles In post-conflict era, many women trying to retain their power while some men pushing to return to patriarchal structure

THE WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP GROUP • Four women identified as community leaders in their respective fields (i.e., education, business, entrepreneurship, medicine, nutrition, HIV/AIDS education, sport) • Safe space for these women to explore potential for research and programming to improve their community and empower women

THE PROJECT: THE “ACADEMICS” •

Alicia: • • •

•

About to begin second year as doctoral student Past community-based experience with AmeriCorps in Massachusetts Third time in Uganda

Meredith: • • •

About to begin second year as tenure-track assistant professor Past community-based experience with non-profit organizations serving youth in Michigan, New York, and South Africa First time in Uganda

METHODS: REFLEXIVITY JOURNALS • Engaged in reflexive process where we kept separate reflexivity journals (54 pages) •

• •

Critical evaluation of our personal, political, cultural, social, and theoretical norms, beliefs, identities, values, and attitudes as well as those of our community partners (Blodgett et al., 2010; Ryba et al., 2013; Schandt, 1997) Examine current/future state of project Identify and process our visceral emotional responses to community engagement experience

• This presentation is an honest and open discussion and reflection on our reflexivity journals and this process

CHALLENGES & STRATEGIES OF THE COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY APPROACH

CHANGING NATURE OF GOALS & OUTCOMES • Our plans for research and programming changed drastically when we first arrived in Uganda, after we were able to engage in honest, open discussion with community gatekeeper

• Project continued to change after we met with the Women’s Leadership Group • Changes included: • •

Overall project goals Expected project outcomes

CHANGING NATURE OF GOALS & OUTCOMES • Challenges: •

Personal discomfort in not having a clear, structured set of goals and outcomes: •

•

Meredith: “It is anxiety-provoking because I am someone who likes to plan everything out.”

Need for time to revise documents, share changes with IRB, and obtain approval for changes to the research process •

Alicia: “Meredith and I spent a good two hours this morning revising forms (again).”

CHANGING NATURE OF GOALS & OUTCOMES •

Strategies: •

Consistent, honest, and open communication with each other

•

Frequent, effective communication with project leaders • • •

•

Initial meetings explored each person’s goals, hopes, and expectations for project Debriefing sessions after every group meeting, where project leaders reflected on that specific meeting, decision that were made, and project as a whole Meredith: “[One of the project leaders] said that it felt like we were abandoning them because it felt like we were no longer going to help them with the project, and she seemed visibly upset by this. However, Alicia helped me explain that this was not the case…we stressed that we were not abandoning them. We wanted to help in whatever way we could in the future – with guidance, with ideas, with help writing, etc…After this explanation, [the same project leader] asked if she could repeat her understanding at this time, to be sure she understood what we were trying to say, and when she did, it was clear that…we were all on the same page.”

Flexibility • •

Control the “controllables” to keep the project moving forward Ensured everything was ready when needed

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH PROJECT LEADERS • Challenges: • Short period of time to build trusting relationships •

Meredith: “[One of the project leaders] does not trust me yet, which is understandable, as she does not know me.”

• History of foreign aid and development in northern Uganda in post-conflict state, with communities treated as research subjects and not engaged through communitybased participatory approach • We were outsiders

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH PROJECT LEADERS •

Strategies

•

Viewed the process of relationship building as productive and meaningful •

Meredith: “During lunch, we stopped focusing on the interview guide and the women just talked about everyday life…I have to admit it was a bit strange for me to stop “working” on our goals for the meeting during lunch, as I wasn’t sure how much time these women had for the meeting…but this mostly stayed in the back of my mind as it was clear they wanted to enjoy their food, decompress, and share lunch over conversation that was not “work-related”. For once, I was able to shut the “researcher" and “Type A” voice off and just focus on…getting to know these women.”

•

Scheduled free time when relationship-building can naturally occur, from visiting homes and work places to meeting family members and going on walks together

•

Actively listened to and respected each project leader’s ideas

EMPOWERING AND EQUITABLE •

Challenges: •

History of foreigners only visiting/working in region for short period of time in post-war era, with many not taking time to collaborate with or learn from community (Finnström, 2008)

•

Belief that others “know best” (Forneris et al., 2013)

•

Feelings of being over-researched, marginalized, and used by researchers (Blodgett et al., 2010)

•

Our experience asking for research questions from a project leader: •

Alicia: What I thought was stress on her face I soon realized that it was her being nervous/not confident. When she looked up, she said that she had never done research before so she wasn’t sure about what questions to think of. This statement really took me aback. At that point I realized that of all of the researchers who have come through – [lists names] – nobody has ever involved her in any part of the process beyond support and approval to allow the project to be done at her school.

Had anybody ever even shown her the research instruments or questions?

EMPOWERING AND EQUITABLE •

Strategies: •

Demonstrated interest, need, and value of their knowledge and expertise (i.e., a learning perspective) •

Meredith: “Another interesting thing that kept happening in the conversation was that [one of the project leaders] would ask us questions…and we would turn it back to her – explaining that it is her vision, the Women’s Leadership Group’s vision, not ours. This is not something we are leading, as we are not the experts in this community. We want to empower them. We want them to take ownership, to help design the project, to help implement the project, to help evaluate the project. Otherwise, it will not be successful, it will not be sustainable, it will not be effective.”

•

Decentralized our role by stepping back into a support/facilitation role, as these women were experts of their own community and experiences (Schinke et al., 2013) • Meredith: “She noticed that we asked many questions but that we did not speak very much. She explained that this showed that we really were interested in empowering them to take charge of this.”

•

Encouraged project leaders to make their own decisions and provided positive feedback when they took a leadership role

EMPOWERING AND EQUITABLE • Strategies: •

Created opportunities for project leaders to share their reflections about project as a whole and their feelings about the communitybased participatory approach, following Freire’s model of empowering the oppressed through cycle of reflection and action (Freire, 1970; Wallerstein & Bernstein, 1988)

•

Used terminology to support the approach we were taking: •

Advisory Board  Women’s Leadership Group

EMPOWERING AND EQUITABLE •

Strategies: •

Questioned need for our presence/involvement in specific activities •

•

Alicia: “My interpretation was that they were perhaps used to foreigners, especially Whites, coming in and [deciding what] would be done rather than asking what needs to be done. There was a turning point in this mindset when Meredith and I asked if we needed to be present during the needs assessment interviews. Meredith addressed that it might not make sense for us to be there because of trust and rapport between the researcher and interviewee. I followed up with the notion that having us in the interview, because we are White, could have negative impacts on the Leadership Group members and the project…The next comment from a Leadership Group member…was that it did not in fact make sense for one of us to be present during the needs and strength assessment interviews.”

In Meredith’s eyes, this moment: “…was one of the turning points of the meeting and, I would argue, the entire project, as the mood seemed to shift drastically after that…the women seemed to speak more freely and to each other more than to us.

We continued asking questions and facilitating the conversation…but it was clear that there was a change in the power dynamics from that moment forward.”

CONCLUSIONS •

Although we experienced many challenges, we also shared positive, empowering, meaningful experiences with the project leaders: •

Meredith: “It was incredible to listen to the women reflect at the end of the meeting about this experience thus far. One project leader, discussing how much she appreciated us bringing this idea to this group and getting things started, along with her excitement about this project. Another project leader sharing her joy and excitement about helping other women, especially at this time in her life.

A different project leader quietly sharing…how she really valued this experience and was happy to be part of the Women’s Leadership Group. Just hearing these women reflect on the experience, to share their thoughts and feelings in such a raw, open, and honest manner – it made all of [the challenges] worth it…listening to these women tell their story, feeling empowered, amazed, excited about the potential for this group…hoping against all of my previous fears, frustrations, worries, that this will work out, that we ARE a part of something amazing.”

CONCLUSIONS • Potential for mutually positive, empowering, meaningful experiences to occur when mainstream academics choose to take a community-based participatory approach to research and programming

• Community-based participatory research and programming is more likely to be culturally competent, relevant, and meaningful to the community, with deconstructed power imbalances and democratized knowledge (Ansley & Gaventa, 1997; Castleden et al., 2012)

THANK YOU!!

Meredith A. Whitley

Alicia J. Johnson

• Adelphi University

• University of Tennessee, Knoxville

• mwhitley@adelphi.edu

• Coordinator of the SportBased Youth Development Specialization • @AdelphiSBYD

• ajohn158@vols.utk.edu