(Separate Fee Required) RMW-2: Participatory Action Research Facilitation Methods: The Neighborhood Story Project

In this workshop, attendees will be introduced to the Neighborhood Story Project and gain the foundational knowledge and skills needed to implement this program in their own communities.

What is the Neighborhood Story Project? This is a 12-week model of engaging residents as researchers in their own communities. Every project is centered around a particular place—such as a school, a neighborhood, or a county—with a contested past and/or present. Though each project follows the same basic curriculum, local Neighborhood Story Project teams select their own research question(s), collect data relevant to their project, and plan unique ways to disseminate their work and engage their broader community. Research has found that participants experience gains in place attachments, social relationships, and self and collective efficacy (Thurber, 2019, 2023). The Neighborhood Story Project is now a core program of Humanities Tennessee, and has been replicated in 13 communities. What will workshop attendees gain? This interactive workshop will introduce the theoretical foundations of this approach to Participatory Action Research (PAR); explore the roles of the facilitator in this project; and demonstrate activities that assist residents in generating their research questions, engaging in systematic inquiry, and taking action with what they have learned. Participants will receive copies of a detailed facilitation guide and leave with a preliminary plan to launch a Neighborhood Story Project in their community.

Participants are encouraged to attend with a particular place in mind where you are interested in leading a Neighborhood Story Project in the future.