Effectively Engaging with Indigenous Communities through Multi-Methods Qualitative Data Collection and an Engaged Communications Plan

Abstract

A research project on social and economic capacity building through Aboriginal entrepreneurship employed a highly engaged approach with communities in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The involved communities were viewed as research partners, and the research team applied a comprehensive communications plan to provide community members with relevant and timely information about the project and summaries of its outcomes as those results emerged. The study was designed to empower those who traditionally had been viewed as participants on whom research could be conducted, and ensure that the research was instead conducted with and for them. This research project encouraged youth and adults to express their perspectives in new and engaging ways that gave them the opportunity to more meaningfully have their voices heard. One important outcome from engaging more with communities was that research team members felt more engaged with their own project.