BUILDING EFFECTIVE CBPR TEAMS

INTRODUCTION TO THE TRIBAL EARLY CHILDHOOD RESEARCH CENTER ¡ S upport early childhood research in tribal communities, focusing on Tribal Home Visiting, Head Start, and Child Care ¡ B uilds off of the work of the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Research Center www.tribalearlychildhood.org

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COMMUNITY BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH WITH EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS IN TRIBAL COMMUNITIES § CBPR with Tribal Early Childhood Programs: Process and Ethical Considerations § Honoring Indigenous Knowledge in CBPR Partnerships §  10/16 at 3pm EDT

§ Building Effective CBPR Teams § The Dynamics of Power and Privilege in Research and Evaluation §  10/23 at 3pm EDT

Authors ¡  Jessica V. Barnes-Najor, Michigan State University ¡  Rick Burnett, Michigan State University ¡  Jean Kerver, Michigan State University ¡  Mavany Verdugo, Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians ¡  Robert E. Brown, Michigan State University ¡  Robert Filimore, Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan ¡  Lisa Abramson, Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan

PRESENTERS

INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

Community Organizing

AGENDA & GOALS ¡  Understanding good practices §  Processes and approaches §  Building teams §  Understanding group dynamics §  Communicating in teams §  Building trust

¡  Application activities included!!

COMMON ISSUES IN PARTNERSHIPS

WHY DO PARTNERSHIPS MATTER IN EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS? ¡  Many types of partnerships

¡  For many functions

TO SUM IT UP…

TEAM DEVELOPMENT

TEAM DEVELOPMENT

Picking up the Pieces by Mike Kniec on Flickr - Creative Commons Attribution https://www.flickr.com/photos/112923805@N05/14707224807

DEVELOPING YOUR TEAM

¡ Surface Reasons §  Satisfy community partnership requirements §  Support the director/PI

IMAGE: Feedback Checklist by AJ Cann

DEVELOPING YOUR TEAM ¡  Deeper Reasons §  Include different perspectives §  Include more voices, bringing a truer picture

CHALLENGES

CRITICAL VALUES FOR TEAM MEMBERS

Adapted From: Strategic Doing National Design Team

Integrity

CRITICAL VALUES: INTEGRIT Y

Adapted From: Strategic Doing National Design Team

Open Honest Authentic No Hidden Agenda

Inclusiveness

CRITICAL VALUES: INCLUSIVENESS

Adapted From: Strategic Doing National Design Team

Values Diversity Set Titles Aside

Community Over Self

CRITICAL VALUES: COMMUNIT Y OVER SELF

Adapted From: Strategic Doing National Design Team

Community Agenda Motivated to Give Listens and Respects Others

Reliability

CRITICAL VALUES: RELIABILIT Y

Adapted From: Strategic Doing National Design Team

Dependable Accountable Commitment Capacity

Reliability

CRITICAL VALUES: RELIABILIT Y

Adapted From: Strategic Doing National Design Team

Dependable Accountable Commitment Capacity

ACTIVIT Y: CRITICAL VALUES ¡  Do you see any similarities to the values and teachings presented here in your community?

¡  How do these relate to your work?

WHAT COMMUNIT Y PARTNERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RESEARCH PARTNERS ¡  Researchers are people too! ¡  Researchers may feel awkward and out of their element §  May overcompensate for this in interactions §  Focus on singular accomplishments

¡  Power differentials between members of the research team ¡  Research needs ¡  Communication is key

WHAT RESEARCH PARTNERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COMMUNIT Y PARTNERS ¡  Community partners have equally valuable knowledge and skills! ¡  Community partners may feel awkward and out of their element §  May be quiet and uncomfortable voicing their opinions/ concerns/beliefs

¡  Power differentials between community members ¡  Community needs ¡  Communication is key

UNDERSTANDING HOW GROUPS WORK

EFFECTIVE TEAM CHARACTERISTICS ¡  Committed to an agreed upon purpose ¡  Set clear goals ¡  Diversity of members ¡  Effective communication and collaboration ¡  Trust and commitment

SUPPORTING AN EFFECTIVE TEAM ¡  Informal, relaxed atmosphere

¡  Lots of relevant discussion, including expression of emotions, feelings, and ideas ¡  Encourages constructive criticism and disagreement

¡  Provide flexible structure for team leadership ¡  All individuals contribute ¡  Establish roles, norms, and processes ¡  Team processes are reviewed and adjusted

ESTABLISH AND MAINTAINING GROUP NORMS AND VALUES ¡  At the onset, establish the ways you want to work together §  Individual behaviors §  Group processes

¡  Develop a written agreement outlining norms and values: listing of statements §  Include written confidentiality agreements

¡  Refer explicitly to these in your work together on a regular basis ¡  Revisit these on a regular basis to see if change is needed

PARTNERSHIP STAGES ¡  Forming ¡  Norming ¡  Storming ¡  Re-Norming ¡  Performing

Tuckman, Bruce (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin 63 (6): 384–99. Biggs, Timothy

FORMING

Trust

Norms & Rules

Leadership

Individual Strengths Purpose

Commitment Roles & Responsibilities

NORMING

Purpose

Group Identity Roles & Responsibilities

STORMING Purpose

Leadership

Individual Strengths Trust

Commitment

Norms & Rules Roles & Responsibilities

Frustrated by cellar_door_films

RE-NORMING

Purpose

Group Identity Roles & Responsibilities

PERFORMING

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche visits Samoa by US Embassy New Zealand JML

ACTIVIT Y ¡  How does this research about team dynamics relate to your own experiences?

¡  Have you ever been a part of a group that established the norms and expectations up front?

¡  Describe your experiences with this.

COMMUNICATION

TALK THROUGH EVERY THING ¡  Everyone brings something new to the table ¡  Remember that many educational programs provide little guidance in conducting field research with diverse cultural and ethnic communities ¡  Outsiders often need to be educated on community cultural norms, beliefs and customs, including community history

ADAPTING COMMUNICATION ST YLES

SKILLS,

ATTITUDES ,

AND ST YLES OF COMMUNICATING

ST YLES OF COMMUNICATION ¡  There are several ways of communicating that may be utilized depending on the participants including: §  Communicative actions §  Speech act §  Nonverbal communication

¡  Communication can be easily distorted if both parties are not attentive

LOGISTICS ¡  Maintain constant communication between investigators, field staff, and project members ¡  Understand that communication is enhanced by face-to-face contact, but be flexible to the communication style of group ¡  Meeting with all members of a team on a regular basis influences the effectiveness of reaching resolutions to problems

TRUST

Trust is an essential element of good team building

LEVELS OF TRUST BUILDING IN TEAMS ¡  Trust building occurs on multiple levels: §  First Level: Between an organization and existing community partners §  Secondary Levels: Between initial partners and the greater community and other organizational partners

FIRST LEVEL OF TRUST ¡  Recommendations for the First Level of Trust §  Acknowledge personal and institutional histories §  Building relationships §  Understand the historical context of the partnership or team §  Be present in the community and listen to others §  Acknowledge the expertise of all partners §  Be upfront about expectations and intentions §  Match words with actions

SECONDARY LEVELS OF TRUST ¡  Secondary Levels of Trust are dedicated to expanding out into the greater community and community settings §  Do not assume people know that the project uses a collaborative approach §  Create ongoing awareness of project history

§  Revisit the first-level recommendations with potential new partners §  The external or expanded group members are able to build upon the foundation of trust provided by the internal group §  The process is repeated again for each new member or group

Words Words Words

Action Action Action

CULTURAL VARIATIONS IN BUILDING TRUST ¡  Trust pathways might look very different §  Levels of sharing §  Amount of time §  The effect of discrepancies/errors

¡  Building trust with those who are not a part of your cultural group §  Often take longer §  May also include other factors that influence trust building §  “Social Capital”

BARRIERS TO TRUST BUILDING ¡  Historical trauma ¡  Trust takes considerable time and effort to establish ¡  Funding often limits: §  The development stage §  The use of collaborative approaches to making decisions (particularly about fund appropriations)

¡  Distance §  Partners are often separated by geographic barriers

¡  Differing backgrounds §  Partners are often separated by cultural barriers

¡  Different agendas

COMMUNICATION AND TRUST ¡  How many of you have experience a breakdown of trust and communication in your work? ¡  What is your initial reaction to a breakdown of trust and communication in your work? Note that this is not how you actually respond! §  Ignore the problem and hope it goes away §  Address the problem head on through direct confrontation §  Identify alternative ways to solve the problem through clear communication with others §  Convince the others that your ideas are their ideas §  Attempt to make everyone feel good about their role

¡  Describe a technique you have found that works to address breakdowns of trust and communication.

SUMMARY

Exchange Knowledge

Respect Equity Empowerment

Establish Agenda & Parameters

Negotiate and Establish Roles

Resolve Differences

Gain Acceptance and Trust

KEY INGREDIENTS

TAKE-HOME POINTS AND FEEDBACK ¡  What are take-home points for you?

¡  What constructive feedback do you have for us?

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COMMUNITY BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH WITH EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS IN TRIBAL COMMUNITIES ¡  CBPR with Tribal Early Childhood Programs: Process and Ethical Considerations §  Coming soon to www.tribalearlychildhood.org

¡  Honoring Indigenous Knowledge in CBPR Partnerships §  10/16 at 3pm EDT §  https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/375195391

¡  Building Effective CBPR Teams ¡  Coming soon to www.tribalearlychildhood.org

¡  The Dynamics of Power and Privilege in Research and Evaluation §  10/23 at 3pm EDT §  https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/413949719

THANK YOU!