Empowerment-Based Research Methods: A 10-Year Approach to Enhancing Indigenous Social and Emotional Wellbeing

Abstract

The use of a long-term (10-year) community research strategy focussing directly on empowerment has demonstrated the power of this approach to facilitate Indigenous people's capacity to regain social and emotional wellbeing and begin to rebuild the social norms of their families and community.

A three-tiered approach to participatory vulnerability assessment in the Solomon Islands

“…The extent to which this occurs, however, depends on the focus of the project and how approaches are conceptualised and implemented (Martin and Hall-Arber, 2007;Parfitt, 2004). As there is a real need to encourage learning and empowerment at local levels, it is therefore perhaps not surprising that research that has a strong focus on co-production and co-synthesis of knowledge between disciplines and stakeholders is increasing (Christens and Perkins, 2008;Danielsen et al, 2007;Gavin et al, 2007;Hagmann and Chuma, 2002;Martin and Hall-Arber, 2007;Parkes and Panelli, 2001;Tsey et al, 2007). Thus, while the dangers of ill-considered and shallow application of participatory approaches need to be acknowledged, optimism remains about the radical potential for projects which are genuinely open to the co-constitution of research and action and which struggle to be critically self-aware to mobilise and empower local communities to manage change (Kesby, 2007).…”

A brighter future for life in the tropics: translating big picture academic vision into practical research

“…This approach as illustrated in Box 1 encourages teams to complement rather than compete with each other (Tsey et al, 2007). It encourages CASE to collaboratively work with relevant people across JCU Divisions and Colleges and beyond rather than being siloed.…”

“…In other words, whether as a team or a whole organisation, you make a promise through branding to your constituencies, stakeholders or customers and you try, as best as possible, to deliver on the promise. Another part of the problem is that like any difficult to define social phenomenon such as sustainability, capacity building, community engagement or empowerment, the notion of creating a 'brighter future' for the tropics can feel daunting and even overwhelming as researchers and teachers struggle to know where exactly to start (Tsey et al, 2007). There's clearly an ethical responsibility on the parts of those driving the new global tropical agenda to ensure that questions regarding the future of the tropics are taken seriously or approached with integrity and are not treated merely as a tick box exercise.…”

“…This article draws on my experience in working with research teams and networks in translating difficult to define constructs such as empowerment into practical research (Tsey et al, 2007) to propose some steps for translating the JCU brighter future tropical mission into reality. Using the first person, I focus on JCU College of Arts Society and Education (CASE) in order to illustrate the points being made.…”

Facilitating Empowerment and Self-Determination Through Participatory Action Research

“…An underlying principle of empowerment approaches is that only solutions driven from within a vulnerable, disadvantaged community will ultimately be successful in reducing community-based risk conditions (Tsey et al, 2007). A key aspect critical for the success of the project implementation and outcomes was ensuring that each local community drove its own processes of identifying and taking ownership of any problems and vulnerabilities and seeking solutions from within.…”