Shawna Ferris (Women's and Gender Studies, University of Manitoba) , Andrea Rounce (Political Science, University of Manitoba) , Danielle Allard (School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alberta) , Amy Lebovitch (Sex Professionals of Canada; Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform)
There are growing calls across universities and archives for engaged and sustained inclusion of extremely marginalized communities in the research and recordkeeping that are both about them and deeply impactful to them. Despite this, there remain significant obstacles to their full participation in these interconnected knowledge institutions. The Ecosystems for Community Research and Recordkeeping (ECRR) project is an interdisciplinary community-driven research initiative that works with extremely marginalized communities such as sex workers, people who use drugs, groups identified as “key communities” for HIV/AIDS research, (im)migrant women escaping violence, and Indigenous nations and communities, to examine how research and archival practices, protocols, policies, and systems should evolve when we require, as per current Tri-Council directives, their meaningful involvement in the research and recordkeeping practices that most directly affect the policies, supports and legislation that shape their lives, work, health, and/or well-being. ECRR aims to 1) deepen understanding of how institutional structures, academic and archival cultures, and beliefs about marginalised communities work together to exclude marginalized communities from traditional research and recordkeeping; 2) use community-driven research methods to envision institutional ecosystems where community-driven research and recordkeeping can thrive; and, 3) co-design inclusive social justice-oriented policies, practices, and educational interventions at knowledge institutions and in our governing bodies to reform research and recordkeeping in the service of supporting communities and their meaningful engagement in these spheres.
As we launch ECRR, we are keen to hear from CAPPA audiences to refine methods and strategies for policy change and innovation.