Posted on April 26th, 2010 by Eddie Cowling in Archived project news
Tagged as: fieldwork, local stakeholders, participatory mapping, research methods
2 Comments
ShareThisLast month saw local mapping workshops being carried out in all three case-study areas. Two workshops took place in each case-study area, and you can find out more about the session in Suffolk here, and the Enfield workshop here. All the workshops intended to not only begin to explore local understandings and perspectives of participation, but also explore where participation happens in the local area and beyond; the sites, spaces, places and opportunities to participate.
The sessions held in inner-city Leeds were fascinating. We had some real stimulating discussions about what participation means to different people and why it is important. People’s perceptions were really varied, for example ‘having a voice’, ‘making a difference’, ‘inclusion’, ‘learning new skills’ and ‘companionship’. It all made for some very thought provoking conversations. The mapping element entailed groups working together to build a map of their local area, which they then populated with sites and opportunities for participation. Not only did this make for some very colourful depictions of the local area, but provided the project team with useful information about the areas people participate. The participants seemed to really enjoy discussing their local area and relished being asked about things that are important to them.
The workshops have helped us to prepare for the next stage of the research. In drawing on local knowledge and identifying the assorted sites of participation in the local area, we have a better idea of where we can find a diverse sample of people for the interviews that we will soon be carrying out. In the near future we will be writing a report of the mapping sessions and the use of community mapping as a research method, so watch this space!
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[...] can find out more about the session in Leeds here, and the Enfield workshop [...]
[...] can find out more about the Leeds workshops here, and the sessions in Suffolk here. And look out for our forthcoming report on all three mapping [...]