Health camps are a key part of SPARC and the community federations’ work across informal settlements and relocation sites in India. In this blog, Aryan Iyer reflects on their role in ARISE and in triggering community collectivisation. Health camps are three-to-five-day long programmes that are held across informal settlements and relocation colonies where federations are […]
07 September 2023 12:30–14:00 IDS Convening Space Join ARISE at Institute of Development Studies for a lunchtime seminar and exhibition of ‘ARISE Kenya Photovoice’ and find out more about our work on health, wellbeing and accountability in the urban informal settlements of Nairobi. The exhibition includes a selection of images produced using Photovoice, a method used […]
This blog, by SPARC staff, provides an update on their work on TB with relocation colony dwellers in Mumbai. We first realised the challenge of TB at ARISE action sites, when we were distributing food support during COVID-19lockdowns. The connection of TB and poor nutrition was already known to us, since that was the first […]
Md Sohrab Hossen discusses his changing perceptions of people who live in informal settlements in Bangladesh, and how working with ARISE has helped him address and unpack the many stereotypes people have about the urban poor. Bostir polapan [slum children] is slang used by local people in urban areas of Bangladesh, particularly in Dhaka. It […]
Sadaf Khan reports on the disconnect between the UN’s definition of slums, and the diverse realities of these informal settlements. UN Habitat’s definition of slums is comprised of what are known as the “five deprivations”; lack of i) access to water, ii) access to improved sanitation, iii) sufficient living area, iv) housing durability and v) […]
By Ivy Chumo, Abu Conteh, Smiriti Jukur, Lilian Otiso, Samuel Saidu and Linda Waldman In recent years, the term ‘informality’ has become increasingly popular. Urban informality refers to that which is not formal and is closely linked to terms such as the informal economy, informal settlements, informal work, housing and governance. ‘Urban informality’, Roy argues, […]
Involving community researchers and the broader community in the development and validation of priorities, study tools, data collection processes, data analysis, interpretation and action planning is important to the quality of the CBPR process. Consistently engaging the community in monitoring the progress of community activities and gaining their reflexive accounts of the actions ensures rigour within the research process.
Capacities (competencies and conditions)
●Awareness of trustworthiness criteria that draw on critical epistemologies
●Ability to assess and develop contextualised code of research ethics including safeguarding
●Capacity to undertake validation exercises with stakeholders and the wider community to ensure the study is relevant, accepted and supported
●Ongoing learning, quality assessment and safeguarding assessment
●Capacity to contextualise research materials that value local ways of knowing and knowledge production
●Knowledge on how to engage in and apply reflexivity, considering positionality with regard to research findings, to strengthen rigour and trustworthiness
●Ability to triangulate different sources of information to determine research priorities, approach and actions
●Rigorous research findings which draw on trustworthiness criteria
●Generalisable research processes that can enhance CBPR techniques
●Community based research that is robust and adds value to communities, policies and practices
●Community members learn research skills, gain access to resources, and find ways to legitimate their knowledge, which have previously been limited by a history of exclusionary research practices
●After the research partnership has undertaken a process of prioritisation, and before conceptualising the research, validate the priorities and incorporate additional context to increase trustworthiness in the process
●Design research analysis and interpretation procedures that involve community researchers and associated stakeholders
●Have an outsider to help increase the rigour and real and perceived validity of the research
●Conduct data interpretation sessions to discuss interpretations, add context to information collected, and facilitate a better understanding of project documentation
●Triangulate data sources and add participant checking
●Undertake co-analysis activities with co-researchers and stakeholders
●Increase the reliability of the study by developing and using a case study protocol and a chain of evidence
●Design survey and interview questions that are culturally aligned enhancing the fit of the research with the implementing context
●Identify relational and situated ethical and safeguarding concepts and approaches that best fit the specific context and the process-oriented nature of CBPR (25)
●Constructive negotiation with gatekeeping bodies such as funders and research ethics committees to increase understanding of appropriate approaches
●Engage co-researchers and community members during the research tool preparation to cover all the essential aspects of the research including safeguarding risks
Utilise quality criteria to evaluate the CBPR process – see Springett, Atkey (26) and Sandoval, Lucero (27
●Documentation on the translation and adaptation of the materials and quality assurance processes through minutes and notes on discussions and engagement within the team and with stakeholders
●Documentation of research validation processes
●Documentation of discussion during triangulation of findings
●Case studies/stories/blogs that show reflexivity processes
●Peer reviewed publications
●Audio or notes from community validation processes
●NVivo or other screenshots showing quality checking processes
●Development and use of a case study protocol and the development of a database and a chain of evidence to improve reliability of the study
*Please note that some statements are adaptations or direct quotes from the papers listed in the reference section
