In Search of Community Champions: Researching the Outcomes of K-Net’s Youth Information and Communications Technology Training Initiative

Kristy Tomkinson

University of Guelph

<ktomkins@uoguelph.ca>

Introduction

As graduate student researcher, I have begun the journey into what fellow colleagues have called a roller-coaster, a life-size puzzle, or a complicated recipe. I have quickly discovered that research is more than an outward investigation, and that it involves an internal search of self-discovery.

My journey begins in the academic bubble of the university, an institutional incubator of theory, thought, and discipline. It is where I learned the scientific methodology of research design, where I drafted the blueprint of my thesis. I struggled with concepts such as epistemology, hermeneutics, and relativism. I also began to develop relationships - something that I soon realized is a central facet of research.

The first time I heard about K-Net (the Kuhkenah Network) in Northern Ontario Aboriginal communities was during a presentation by a former faculty member. He was presenting research that had been done on participatory video in rural and remote communities in Ontario, and how these areas were transformed with the introduction of bandwidth. One image that stuck out in my mind was of a telephone vicariously perched at the very top of a telephone pole. He duly noted that this was the only form of communication to the outside world.

Hearing the story and learning about the collaborative work being done in the “backyard” of my province intrigued and inspired me as a community development scholar. It wasn’t too long before I was speaking to K-Net staff through video-conference. After tossing a few ideas around we came to agreement on an alumni project for the Youth ICT Training initiative (YICT) developed and hosted by K-Net. With my experience and passion for youth skills development, I was excited to learn about this program and hear the stories of the people involved.

Background

The Youth ICT Training initiative (YICT) has evolved and continues to evolve as a training and employment program for First Nations youth in Northern Ontario. Since 1995 it has been providing IT skills training in a distance-education format and short-term employment placements for hands-on experience in the IT field. Youth workers are hired on-site at schools, libraries, band offices, and other administrative areas in rural and remote First Nations communities. They have the opportunity to learn and work within their own communities, while contributing to their community’s IT infrastructure and the local capacity to engage with it.

Within a flexible learning and working environment, youth workers are encouraged to collaborate with their supervisors, peers, and instructors in brainstorming creative and practical ways that they can meet community needs through IT. For example, while receiving online training for web-design applications, youth workers are required to create a community website that can portray their community’s values, demographics, activities, and accomplishments. In this way, youth workers are establishing a bridge between their remote communities and the information highway.

The YICT program engenders self-sufficiency and self-determination within local youth while opening doors for their future career development. It aims to “develop and strengthen employability skills for youth and ease the transition to longer term career-related employment” (Beaton, 2001; Fiser, 2005). Coordinators of YICT have expressed a need for supporting documentation to enhance the program and to apply for more stable funding. The program was initially set up with funding from Industry Canada. Since its launch, the program has taken advantage of funding windows with the Federal Government’s First Nations SchoolNet and Industry Canada’s Community Access Program for Youth, but has yet to establish a stable funding base.

Furthermore, a need exists to determine the outcomes of the YICT program for participants in order to guide future evaluation models. Key community members have indicated that a clear framework for evaluating the program is needed, and in keeping with community research guidelines, a participatory approach is required. This research can guide the creation of a platform for future community-based research into similar initiatives in Ontario and across Canada.

Rationale

Recent discourse on Canada’s “digital divide” has focused on increasing access to ICTs to the “have-not” regions of the country. The “have-not” areas in Internet access and information and communication technology use encompass a disproportionate amount of Canada’s Aboriginal and First Nations communities. Throughout the research and discussion on bridging the Canadian digital divide is a focus on infrastructure, access, and information dissemination. However access to ICTs does not necessarily translate into the capacity to utilize it. Current ICT initiatives focus on extension and technology transfer and often ignore the potential for ICTs to enable local socio-economic development (Chapman and Slaymaker, 2002). Few initiatives have focused on the social aspect of ICTs and development, which would require the expansion of local capacity to develop, manage, and maintain the applications of ICTs (Gurstein, 2003).

A review of the literature reveals that when harnessed at the local level, ICTs have numerous possibilities and potentialities through the creativity and innovation of individuals and communities (Chapman and Slaymaker, 2002; Ferreira et al, 2004;

Perley and O’Donnell, 2006; Ramirez, 2005; Richardson, 1999). However there is little qualitative research to date on the long-term impacts of socially-oriented ICT initiatives. For organizational and governmental ICT development strategies to shift their focus from universal access to local capabilities and skills, more research and evaluations in communities, by communities, are needed.

The YICT Alumni case study is focused on the YICT program in the context of building IT capacity in Ontario’s Northern Aboriginal communities. It is examining how and in what ways the program has met local socio-economic needs from the perspective of its participants. There is a lack of research that includes a Canadian Aboriginal context and voices of youth in training and education initiatives. This study aims to capture these perspectives and provide a distinct viewpoint into the discourse of ICTs for Development.

The study’s goal is to determine the outcomes of the YICT program for its participants. The term ‘outcome’ is being utilized to signify that this study is examining the overall benefits, and not proposing to evaluate the impact of the program. The study’s objectives are:

This study is seeking to find how these individuals are meeting personal and community needs and demands through the use of IT applications, and outline the challenges or barriers they face in the process. In many cases in the past, coordinators have found that the YICT program has produced skilled youth workers who end up spending a lot of their time fixing computers for community members. The program coordinators would like to see them take a step further and support their community ICT network which serves as a foundation for essential services within the community. For example, finding a niche within the Internet high school funding model to hire skilled youth could not only provide needed employment but also maintenance for the applications that distance learning operates on.

Methodology

Past research with Canadian Aboriginal communities has lacked a true Aboriginal perspective and voice (Perley and O'Donnell, 2006). Many Aboriginal communities are experiencing research fatigue and are tired of the extraction and appropriation of the knowledge they share with researchers. It is imperative that this study follows community-based guidelines and ethical protocols for research.

Leaders of the Keewaytinook Okimakanak (KO) communities have made a significant development in conducting research with Aboriginal communities by creating the Kewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute (KORI). KORI's mandate is to change the approach in which research is conducted in Aboriginal communities (KORI, 2008). The research guidelines set out by KORI include: building a relationship or partnership with local researchers, the use of sharing circles, and abiding by OCAP principles (KORI, 2008).

OCAP, which stands for Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession, was coined by the Steering Committee of the First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey (Schnarch, 2004). The basic tenet of OCAP is Aboriginal and First Nations self-determination in research (Schnarch, 2004). It ensures that Aboriginal communities own the information collected, have control of the research processes, have access to the resulting documentation, and have possession of any data collected and the right to distribute it (KORI, 2008). To keep within the best interests of the KO communities, the data acquisition and distribution process of this study will follow OCAP principles.

Perley and O'Donnell (2006) suggest five main approaches to research with Aboriginal communities: building a relationship and partnerships with First Nations; developing First Nations' priorities for research; developing researchers' self-awareness and cultural biases; integrating the political, socio-economic, and historical contexts; and expanding borders of the researchers' academic discipline. These approaches, along with KORI's guidelines will be considered throughout the study.

The initial steps for this study involved consultation, discussion, and prioritization with key community members. Consultations and discussions about research priorities were held with key stakeholders through video-conferencing. Once a topic or problem was agreed upon, we identified a network of stakeholders that are affected by this topic. In this case, stakeholders include key informants, such as supervisors and instructors, and past participants of the program. Stakeholders were contacted and invited to join an online Moodle environment, called a Meeting Place, where information about the project, discussion forums, and contact information is posted. The YICT Alumni Meeting place can be found at: http://meeting.knet.ca/mp19/course/view.php?id=27

Participants were encouraged to introduce themselves, describe the type of training they received and when they were enrolled, and discuss their interests and concerns surrounding the research. These initial steps were developed to create dialogue, ensure a participatory approach, and build trust with participants of the study.

Archival and baseline research was conducted prior to field research to gain an understanding of the processes and methods of the YIT program. Videoconferencing, email, and online document searches were the main methods used to acquire extensive baseline information of the case.

Once interested participants were consulted, individual interviews, either in-person or via videoconferencing, are conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of their experiences of the program. Semi-structured, open-ended questions guided participants to share their experiences within the program and outside of the program as graduates. In discussing their possible futures, or as part of a reflection on their past since they graduated, participants were asked to identify three things that may aid them in the pursuit of setting up their own ICT business, and three things that may inhibit or challenge them in that pursuit. This exercise will help to reach the third objective of the study: To briefly outline a link between program experiences and participant entrepreneurship.

Further consultations with participants and key community members will be conducted via videoconferencing and/or focus groups. Any data collected will be made available for participants to review to ensure the information is correct. It is important that dialogue continues between researcher and participants to ensure research priorities are met, concerns are addressed, and OCAP principles are followed.

To ensure accuracy and transparency, any data collected will be made available for participant review. Information will then be made available on the online environment; and participants will be informed of the availability of study results. Video-taping or voice recording the interviews are central components of this qualitative study. A major portion of the findings will be in video format for online viewing and presentation. Participants will be encouraged to tell their stories and it is pertinent that their stories are presented in their voice. All of the video footage will be compiled into a mini-documentary for online viewing, to celebrate and promote the dedication, hard-work, and accomplishments of the YICT program. The documentary will also highlight the successes and challenges of developing and maintaining telecommunications networks that meet community needs in Ontario’s Northern Aboriginal communities.

Conclusion

Throughout this learning process, this outward search for the stories of individuals, I am also looking inward at my own journey, the choices I have made and have yet to make, and the various paths I can take in my research. I am discovering that research is just as much as discovering myself, my passions, my goals, as it is exploring the journeys that others have to share. It is the stories of “community champions”, those who have taken it upon themselves to direct change in their communities through the application of ICTs, this study is seeking. As catalysts, they are applying their experience and skills to meet community demands and needs by building on communication networks, discovering creative ways to deliver services, and sharing their knowledge with others. I am interested in what doors have opened for YICT graduates, and the paths they have taken with the skills and training they have gained through the program.

In my search of “community champions” I am capturing experiences of ICT for Development strategies through the unique perspective of Northern Ontario’s Aboriginal youth. To date, very little qualitative research has been conducted to ascertain the outcomes of socially-oriented ICT initiatives. The data collected from this study can assist with documentation for future proposals, improvements in the program, and contribute to the K-Net community database. The online environment, or Meeting Place, is a catalyst for dialogue, networking, and collaboration among youth and young adults in the field of IT to continue championing their creativity and innovation within their communities in the North. The methods utilized in this outcome assessment can provide a platform and guide for future assessment or evaluation models for similar initiatives in First Nations communities across Canada.

References

Beaton, B. (2001). Keewaytinook Okimakanak's Proposal to SchoolNet Youth Employment Initiative to Hire Aboriginal Youth as a First Nation Schoolnet Helpdesk Assistants.

Chapman, R. and Slaymaker, T. (2002). ICTs and Rural Development: Review of the Literature, Current Interventions and Opportunities for Action. Overseas Development Initiative Working Paper 192. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from: http://www.cefe.net/forum/ICT_Rural.pdf

Fiser, A. (2005). Through Their Eyes: Worker Perceptions of the YIT Program. A report compiled for K-Net's Youth ICT Training and Employment Program. Industry Canada, First Nations SchoolNet Regional Management Organization.

Ferreira, G., et al. (2004). Connectivity in Canada's Far North: Participatory Evaluation in Ontario's Aboriginal Communities. Measuring the information society: What, how, for whom and what? Pre-Conference Workshop of the Association of Internet Researchers Conference, Brighton, UK. Retrieved March 10, 2009 from: http://asis.org/Chapters/europenews/FERREIRA RAMIREZ.pdf

Gurstein, M. (2003). Effective Use: A community informatics strategy beyond the digital divide. First Monday. 8:12. Retrieved May 4, 2009 from: http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1107/1027

Perley, S., and S. O'Donnell. (2006). Broadband Video Communication Research in First Nations Communities. National Research Council of Canada. Retrieved 30 March, 2009 from: http://iit-iti.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/iit-publications-iti/docs/NRC-48745.pdf

Ramirez, R. and D. Richardson. (2005). Measuring the Impact of Telecommunication Services on Rural and Remote Communities. Telecommunications Policy. 29, 297-319

Richardson, D. (1999). Facilitating Participation: Accessing Internet Services for Development. The Art of Facilitating Participation. Shirley A. White ed. Sage Publications: New Delhi

Schnarch, B. (2004). Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession (OCAP) or Self-Determination Applied to Research. Journal of Aboriginal Health. January.