Examples of Co-Produced Research
Piniakkanik sumiiffinni nalunaarsuineq (PISUNA)
PISUNA (http://www.pisuna.org) is a project that involves local people in the documentation and management of the environment and living resources in Greenland. The Nordic Council Environment Prize in 2018 was awarded to the Natural Resource Council of Attu, West Greenland, who is tasked with collecting information and observations from fishers and hunters in the community. The award recognized the value of the local council in documenting the marine environment and proposing new ways of managing it. The PISUNA project has worked with the NSF-supported Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA, https://eloka-arctic.org/pisuna-net/en) and the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Alaska Arctic Observatory and Knowledge Hub (A-OK, https://arctic-aok.org/) to jointly develop a database and interface for sharing community-based observations that can help inform management of marine living resources (https://eloka-arctic.org/pisuna-net/en). The exchange of information and best practices between the project in Alaska and that in Greenland, along with involvement from the ground up of the ELOKA data management experts resulted in a co-produced tool that further empowers local Greenland fishers and hunters to share observations amongst themselves for better resource management.
The Rockwell Kent and Early Twentieth Century Greenland Project
This collaborative study combines visual, historical and anthropological methodologies to approach how social, cultural and environmental changes and continuities are constructed and experienced in Greenland. The project started with the work of Rockwell Kent, an American artist and writer, who resided in Greenland in the early 1930s and produced an extensive collection of photographs, art, and literature about his time in the country. Prior to the start of research, the PI and Co-PIs (2 from U.S. institutions and 2 from Ilisimatusarfik) visited the study communities of Illorsuit, Sisimiut, Nuuk, and Uummannaq, discussed the project, displayed Kent’s art and photographic works and gathered community feedback which was incorporated into the research design. In the later research stage, Kent’s work served as a starting point to engage communities and discuss how social, cultural and environmental changes as well as continuities with the past are understood and defined. Interviews were conducted with community members focusing on the transitions they have experienced in their own lives and in the life of their town/city. Community members were also asked about their knowledge of Kent and his work related to Greenland. In an effort to engage youth in this research and incorporate their perspectives into the project, photographic workshops were carried out with the aid of local schools in 2017/2018 in each of the study communities. During the 1-2 week workshops, the researchers with the aid of local teachers met with students and presented a brief history of photography, lessons in basic photographic techniques and provided students with cameras. Students were asked to take photos of their families, communities, hopes and dreams and keep a photo journal. Participants produced over 1000 photographs during the workshops. After initial analysis, part of the research team returned to each of the study communities in late 2018 and met with workshop participants again to examine their photos and write captions which will be used in a book of the student photos. The researchers have efforted to incorporate students into the various stages of research, thus the ability to return to study communities and meet with workshop participants has been essential. All participants will receive their photos on a USB drive and a copy of the photobook and the proceeds from any sales of the book will be donated to a children’s charity in Greenland. The incorporation of youth with the aid of local schools and teachers was an indispensable component of this research allowing for a glimpse into how young people in Greenland see their own time, their social lives and their hopes and dreams for the future. The visual is crucial, not only for how we culturally construct our world, but for what we see, how we see, what it means to us, and how it affects us.
Population Dynamics in Greenland: A Multi-component Mixed-methods Study of the Dynamics of Pregnancy in Greenland (PDG)
PDG examined how decisions regarding conception, pregnancy and parenthood are shaped by multiple interacting constraints and influences in Kullorsuaq, an indigenous, predominantly youthful, northern community in Greenland undergoing economic and environmental changes. PDG was a community based participatory research study (CBPR). The study’s theoretical framework combined ecological systems theory with traditional knowledge to investigate the complexity of factors that create the context in which people in Kullorsuaq make reproductive decisions. Data collection strategies included semi structured in-depth interviews and ethnographic methods. There were three overarching PDG findings. First, CBPR is an effective method to engage community members in the Arctic. Second, the positionality of the research team within the community creates a psycho-social-emotional relationship between research team members and community members. Third, reproductive health in Kullorsuaq is influenced by an interplay of cultural, social, economic, and environmental factors in the community as well as within the large context of Greenland’s political, social service, and health care system. Improving reproductive health outcomes in Kullorsuaq requires a multi-faceted approach. At an individual level culturally relevant sexual and reproductive health education and skill building that addresses communicating about sex, birth control and pregnancy with sex partners and within families and strategies for developing and maintaining healthy intimate relationships is need. At the family level interventions are required that support clear boundaries and expectations within families related to having and raising children. At the community level social norms grounded in pro-cultural beliefs and practices that promote respectful relationships between individuals, couples, and families are warranted. At a political systems level development in the infrastructure that establish culturally relevant educational, social and health care services that are based on the needs of people in Kullorsuaq and Greenlanders are necessary.