Community Research Tool Kit for People and Planet
On Earth Day 2024 (April 22), the Institute launched the Community Research Tool Kit. This is our first crowdfunding campaign to build support for community research.
The Institute’s five person management team – which meets weekly – made the decision in February to move forward with community outreach first, rather than fall back on fee for service work in consulting. It’s time!
The Institute is gearing up to reach more people. By developing and refining a “Community Research Tool Kit,” we can support a growing number of communities to better inform local public decisions for better social and environmental outcomes.
Our wonderful backers helped us reach our goal for developing tabling gear – and this by June 7. Thank you!
Watch the uplifting Earth Day event video on an island paradise where hope is interwoven with action and reflection towards a better future.
Happy Earth Day Everyone!
Earth Day is everyday!
Take part in a research-based approach to community.
Contact us to arrange an introduction to community research for a small group online or in person.
We bring place-based community together to protect what matters most.
Visit the Crowdfunding Project for the Community Research Tool Kit.
By refining existing and artfully adding new items to the Community Research Tool Kit, the Institute expects to raise awareness about community-based participatory action research and expand its practice.
We welcome inquiries and the opportunity to provide conversational introductions to place-based communities. Consider organizing a presentation – either online or in person – for Summer or Fall 2024. We’ll do our very best to springboard community-based participatory research in your community.
Why Is Community Research So Important?
Creating the conditions for better public choices requires input from local people on the matters that affect them. Community in the work we do is solely defined as place-based – where people live year round.
Profit driven solutions – no matter how technically sound they appear – may not address the underlying causes of ecological and social decline. Research conducted towards remedying markets that do not account for externalities can be very helpful.
We advance research that is unbiased to ensure accuracy in the results by preventing undue influence by a few that may benefit from or fund the work. Such an outcome requires a distributed funding model for community research. Please spread the word and encourage others to help our cause – to ensure local voices are heard and better decisions are made.
Furthermore, planners involved in community engagement are looking to strengthen their methods of doing community development and ecosystem conservation. Planners seek sound methods to enhance their capacity for listening to the people who may be affected. In this way, planners can feel assured that they are organizing towards optimal outcomes built on lived experience of locals. Community research ensures a maximal pool of practical problem-solving and creative imagination.
For all these good reasons, the Institute is developing educational outreach and training support in community research.As we continue to meet good people, we build relationships of trust while also growing our number of email subscribers.