This project will only succeed with the involvement of many.
We have a range of activities and roles to get involved in. see below for more details.
Of course we recognize that some of you may want to design your own ways of being involved. If that’s you – get in touch and we’ll figure out how we can support the kind of involvement you’re seeking.
Citizen Researchers
The role:
We’d like to recruit and train a small team of citizen researchers who will be responsible for carrying out interviews, gathering media, engaging with artefacts and sharing their findings with the wider Participatory Action Research team. They will also be responsible for documenting the PAR process from planning to reflection.
The project has 3 phases. The first phase will involve:
• Developing a research process and questions etc.
• Organising interviews and other forms of gathering the views of community members
• Carrying out interviews etc in the community.
• Accessing relevant archives and information and collating/analysing data.
• Collating the data, stories and perspectives shared into presentations and sharing these with other participants in the research process and at regular events.
• Participating in the process of identifying actions based on the research you and other groups have carried out.
The second phase involves:
• Planning actions based on the above process
• Working to implement actions based on the above process
• Documenting the actions that are implemented and evaluating their success.
The third phase involves:
• Returning to the research process and asking what impact the actions had and how we could improve upon them
What can you get out of this experience?
1. Volunteers will gain new knowledge about their community, its assets & about participation processes.
2. Volunteers will gain opportunities to develop skills in communication, community organising and research.
3. Volunteers will access opportunities to build relationships with the wider community.
4. Finally, participating in this project will offer an opportunity to play a key role in important conversations around community participation & ownership in Govan.
Who we are looking for?
We hope that our volunteer team will bring a range of skills and experience but the following skills and abilities will help you and us to get the most out of this role:
• Good communication skills
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Ability to think creatively and to share ideas
• An interest in digital media (film and photography)
• Awareness of the common good
• Experience of research and data analysis techniques
• Commitment to, and an interest in, community organising
Interested?
What we ask of them…
It’s our hope that after a period of training in research skills the researchers will be meeting and working in the community as part of a small team for approximately 5 – 7 hours per week for the duration of the project.
If you’re interested in getting involved as a citizen researcher download an application form – – Farmhouse Project Application form April 15 – and send it to us at: info@inthecommongood.org
Participate in the Study Group
We are seeking between 8 and 12 people to be involved in our Common Good Study Group which will run between June and November this year.
Aim of the group:
We recognize that Govan is full of individuals and organizations with lots of experience and local knowledge of the themes these questions centre on. The idea behind the study group is to bring that experience and knowledge into one room and to build collective knowledge in these areas. From that point we hope that we can begin to identify actions which will support the wider community in areas where community organizing feels most necessary.
The group will explore:
● What is important to our communities?
● Why do we need to organise for our communities?
● How do we organise effectively and sustainably for our communities?
We envisage the study group meeting on a weekly basis over the course of 3 months to collectively address the questions. Half of the sessions would be group-led and would take whatever format the group feels is appropriate to foster collective learning around the questions. The other half would involve input and activities (workshops & films) which encourage exploration of the questions and themes. These would be open to all – not just the study group and would be a good opportunity to gather a range of views.
We’ve designed the program in this way because we feel that the different session formats will promote different kinds of dialogue. For us it’s important that whilst all participants learn something from the project – they also share the experience and knowledge they already hold.
We are ideally looking for a commitment of 2 hours a week over the 3 months but would consider more limited participation under particular circumstances.
What can you get out of this experience?
1. Participants will gain new knowledge about their community, it’s assets (spaces and people) & about participation processes.
2. Participants will gain opportunities to develop skills in communication, community organizing and collaborative knowledge-building.
3. Participants will access opportunities to strengthen relationships with the wider community.
4. Finally, participating in the study group will offer an opportunity to play a key role in important conversations around community participation & ownership in Govan.
Who we’re looking for:
Folk with something to share: We hope that those involved will bring their own experience and knowledge of the issues as well as an openness to exploring the issues from a range of perspectives – local and global.
Folk who have a stake: We feel that this process will work best if those involved are already involved in the local Govan area in a meaningful way.
Folk who care: we hope that those involved want to see the best for the Govan community as a whole and are ready to work for positive change
Interested?
If you’re interested in getting involved as a study group participant download an application form – Participant Application form (farmhouse project) – and send it to us at: info@inthecommongood.org