ICBO Results: Authenticity and Motivation

Understanding motivation for forming collaborations and doing ‘outreach’ in underserved communities is important. Authenticity is especially important in the language people use (does it signal superiority?), actions they take (are you genuinely interested in connecting?), and when dealing with conflicts. Taking time to express gratitude is important.

Video edited by Guava Rhee (Engaged Cornell student). Actor: Jose Miguel Hernandez Hurtado, director of La Joven Guardia del Teatro and community researcher member of the ICBOs.

ICBO Research results: Trust and Transparency

Our research shows that developing genuine trust is one of the most important parts of a successful partnership between a STEM institution and a community-based organization. Because of a long history of inequities, developing trust needs to be a long-term commitment. There has to be continuity, openness, and a real desire to make it happen. Working through challenges successfully and spending time getting to know each other personally (socially outside of the project) increases trust.

Meet Catherine!

Meet Catherine Pham! She is the first Community Partner to feature in a bi-weekly series to introduce the Community Perspectives Team.

Our Workbooks for Community-based Organizations and Informal Science Institutions

The ICBOs workbooks for Community-based Organizations MEANINGFUL COLLABORATIONS and for Informal Science Educators PARTNERSHIPS FOR IMPACT are now available for download! 

  To download the CBO workbook: Meaningful Collaborations - click HERE!

  To download ISE workbook: Partnerships for Impact - click HERE!

The workbooks are a product of research conducted by the ICBOs and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology over three years, focused on how to create equitable partnerships between community-based organizations in underrepresented communities and informal science institutions.

The objective is to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). The research comes from questions asked by community researchers to more than 30 other community organizations. It represents the community perspective.

Our Community Review Board Agreement of Non-Negotiables

The ICBOs have created a Community Review Board Agreement of Non-Negotiables to guide research and evaluation in our communities. We believe these key agreements will guide equitable, inclusive research that ultimately benefits our communities. This agreement will guide our work -- much like Institutional Review Boards might do so at universities and research institutions, but from the community perspective.

ICBO Community Review Board Agreement of Non-Negotiables

What is non-negotiable as we undertake community-based participatory research?

1. Research in our communities must be conducted with respect and cultural competence.

2. Research in our communities must include our communities from the beginning.

3. Research in our communities will be beneficial and empowering to our communities.

4. Researchers must have a deep understanding of equity*.

5. Researchers must have a high level of emotional intelligence.

6. Researchers will use vocabulary that is easy for everyone involved in the project (and their communities) to understand.

7. Researchers must understand our communities’ priorities.

8. Researchers will not use our communities as guinea pigs. We do not want to be studied or used for the benefit of others.

9. Research in our communities will be honest, transparent, and have high integrity.

10. OUR worldviews ARE NOT THOSE OF THE DOMINANT CULTURE. WE WILL NOT ADAPT SIMPLY BECAUSE IT IS THE WAY SCIENCE IS TRADITIONALLY DONE.  

11. Researchers will be clear and transparent about their agenda.

12. Researchers will NOT use our communities for the benefit of their institutions or for their personal benefit.

13. Research results will always be shared with our communities first and in ways that are accessible and clear to everyone.

14. Consent documents will be clear and to the point so that anyone can understand what they are agreeing to.

15. The intellectual property that is taken from our communities belongs to our community. 

*Equity: Providing the structure, tools, respect, and support needed to give each member the same opportunity to succeed. Working for equity also means identifying and fighting forces and systems that limit opportunities and outcomes.

 

Photos of the ICBOs meeting at our December 11-13 meeting at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The ICBOs have co-created and signed a copy of our working agreements. Photos by Marilú Lopez-Fretts

Remembering our friend Pepe

Our ICBO family is missing one of our members, friend and ally... Jose Pepe Marcos-Iga. Pepe passed away September 18, 2018.

To you, Pepe, we dedicate our work!

 Pepe Marcos-Iga

January 5, 1974-September 18, 2018

Pepe leaves an important legacy in the field of environmental education, conservation, equity and inclusion; his inspiration and contribution to this work has been invaluable. We’ll miss your sense of humor, your brilliance and your passion to build a more equitable society. We are honored to have you as one of the ICBOs. Forever, we thank you, Pepe.

And one day
As I'm sitting here nostalgic of things to come
Remembering fondly what's still to be
The laughs will stop
The smiles will be no more
I will be distant from the warmth of hope
And I may be only left with memories
If I fail to see
The moments I have between you and me
Are these
Right now
Aquí

********
 I've come to see
That to me
You'll still be there
Like a star from afar
Even if distant and gone
Your light will reach me
From the past
It's luminosity will last
As I hope to be
A star for others
Like you've been for me

Written by José González after hearing the news —Thank you José.

 

Pepe leaves behind his wife Tania and two amazing children. 
For those who wish to help Pepe's children's education, you can contribute to
 https://www.gofundme.com/celebrate-pepe-marcosiga

Our Latest Presentation at the ASTC Annual Conference

The ICBOs presented at the ASTC annual conference on September 30 in Hartford, Connecticut. Bobby Wilson, Karen Kitchen, and Marilú López Fretts engaged in deep conversations during the poster presentation. Our newest ICBO poster features original art and reflects the evolution of the research framework.

Later that afternoon, they participated in a group discussion on the two strands of research during the session Examining Contextual Factors of Partnerships to Improve Cultural Diversity in Informal STEM Programming.

Bobby and Karen shared some of the ICBO results - mainly focused around ACCESS and Co-creation.

At the end of the session, the ICBOs piloted our newest version of the Informal Science Institution workbook filled with quotes from our research, artwork, and reflective questions. Make sure you get your copy. A pdf version of the ISE workbook is available for download here!

 

Finalizing our Community Framework

We continue to analyze our data and dig more and more deeply into our results.  As we have done so, we have discovered that our Community Framework continues to evolve and grow as we further understand our findings.

In the latest iteration of our Community Framework we find the same themes: Power and Privilege, Trust and Transparency, Realities and Relevance, and Commitment and Collaboration. But, we've found that Power and Privilege and Realties and Relevance represent challenges while Trust and Transparency and Commitment and Collaboration represent tools.

We've found that to represent the interplay among all the themes and the relationship between the tools and challenges, we needed to: 

1) Ensure that all the themes were clearly connecting with all the other themes -- thus all the colors  in the framework touch. 

2) Power and Privilege, represented in the blue is the category that most influences collaborations and all the other categories. It is the foundation of equitable collaborations and thus, appears on the outer edge as the base of the framework (looking at it from above). Realities and Relevance, represented in yellow indicate that even when following best practices and exhibiting the best of intentions, these break down when implementing programming and these challenges may prevent successful collaborations.

3) Trust and Transparency and Commitment and Collaboration depicted as two figures, one brown and and one cream, are connecting with each other, perhaps hugging, perhaps dancing. These are tools utilized to overcome the challenges. 

It is important to see the tools in the context of the power dynamics and the realities of the collaboration!

We can't promise that our Community Framework won't continue to evolve, because it is a living, breathing framework that changes with our communities and adapts to our collective understanding of our work.

Our next stop is Atlanta, GA for the ACGA Conference

If you work within a community-based organization or with a large informal education institution and you are interested in “Building Meaningful Collaborations” this workshop is for you!

Join us at the American Community Gardening Association Bi-Annual Conference in College Park, Georgia from September 13-16, 2018.

Our pre-conference workshop will be held on September 13 from noon to 4:00 pm at Georgia International Convention Center.

Through humor, the arts, and storytelling we will explore the role of partnerships in the implementation of equitable environmental education projects in underserved communities.

Based on participatory research by communities historically excluded from the sciences, this workshop will uncover barriers and opportunities for achieving real impact in practice. 

Presenters: Bobby Wilson of Metro Atlanta Urban Farm, and fellow community researchers leading this work with The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Walking on Eggshells with Jose Miguel Hernandez Hurtado

Our research shows that community-based organizations don’t feel like they can be honest with partners when they see institutional racism. They feel like they are “walking on eggshells,” because addressing inequity might harm their organization or community.

In this video, Jose Miguel Hernandez, an artist and one of our community researchers, interprets one of the results of our research using body expressions.

Why I got here and why it matters

Thirty-year educator John Annoni, founder of Camp Compass Academy in Allentown, Pennsylvania, shares his passion for his work. John is a leading force when it comes to building bridges between outdoor culture and inner city kids from underserved communities. Through "hunting and fishing in the pursuit of Mother Nature," he brings his perspective to our Community Perspectives' research.

Jose Gonzalez explains Trickle-down engagement and its effects on community-based organizations

Our Rules

Photo by Marilú López Fretts

After meeting in Philadelphia this November we've determined the working rules for the Community Perspectives Researchers (also known as the Independent Community Based Organizations or ICBOs).

Working Rules

The ICBOs have agreed to follow the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing:

1) Be inclusive

2) Emphasis on bottom-up organizing

3) Let people speak for themselves

4) Work together in solidarity and mutuality

5) Build just relationships among ourselves

6) Commitment to self-transformation

Decision-making:

-We will strive for consensus and embrace solidarity and mutuality among ICBO members.

-Transparency and honesty are expected among all ICBO members and collaborators.

-All members will be kept informed at all times and will have multiple opportunities to weigh in and provide input ahead of deadlines.

-All ICBO members will be included/invited to meetings that affect our collective work.

-All ICBO members will have access to research findings in all phases of the research process.

-We focus on strengths.

Presentations and publications:

-First authorship is determined by niche/topic/area of expertise; who is taking the lead; who might benefit the most; or alphabetical order. Transparency and honesty are key.

    

-One ICBO representative will take on the role of coordinating any requests for presentations stemming from our Community Perspectives Research. This role will be held for 4 months and then we will rotate this responsibility. Fanny Villarreal has taken the role of the ICBO coordinator until April 2018.

    

Photo by Marilú López Fretts

-We have developed a short application for potential presenters (ICBO members and/others). The application can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6C92HJC

    

-We will make major efforts to ensure ICBO participation/representation in Community Perspectives research presentations to guide and interpret our work and messaging in the right manner. Let the ICBOs speak for themselves.

    

-Every member of the ICBO research team and participating community-based organizations will have a copy of all our findings, publications, and presentations as soon as they available. Each member will have a printed version of our standard research poster of results and share as they see fit.

-The posters, presentations, and publications will always acknowledge the authors and participating community-based organizations and be clear about who has done this work.

-The ICBOs will always speak for themselves. The research should be shared broadly without requiring in-person representation from dominant-culture institutions, including the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Blogs and videos:   

-The ICBOs will always post from the heart.

-Blogs and videos are democratizing tools to share our community perspectives and the work we do.

Motivations and Benefit:
-We value inclusion and authenticity
- We value working through conflicts
- We value doing the work lovingly by “living the mission”
- We believe that community-based organizations and leaders benefit by valuing and communicating their worth
- We expect due credit and equitable compensation for community expertise

-We demand self-reflection, transparency, and honesty in understanding motivations of our work.

-We demand self-reflection, transparency, and honesty in understanding who will ultimately benefit from our work and from products of our work.

-We focus on social inequalities, work for social change,  and believe the primary benefactors of our efforts are the communities we represent.

-We expect mutual benefit of all partners.

Bobby, Makeda and John share how their work impacts their communities

Bobby Wilson Describes our Research to Increase Inclusion in the Sciences

A Visit to Camp Compass

On Halloween, on their way to the ICBO meeting in Philadelphia, José Miguel, Fanny, Marilú and Karen stopped in Allentown PA to visit Camp Compass, one of the lead community-based organizations in our research. The nonprofit organization for urban, disadvantaged youth, fosters self esteem  through hunting, fishing, tutoring, and social guidance. They arrived at 5:30pm and John Annoni, the program's leader was waiting in the parking lot with three of his students. Camp Compass is not easy to find. It is in an unmarked alleyway, at the back of a carpet store. From the outside it looks unassuming and simple, and on the inside it is home.

John Annoni (center), his students, and the visitors. Photo by Marilú Lopez-Fretts

The power of Camp Compass becomes evident as soon as you begin to talk to one of the youth. The three students introduced themselves and took charge of the tour. These youth are confident and strong (in a way rarely seen in youth their age), while at the same time showing a gentle, patient, kindness towards newcomers and each other. There's something different at Camp Compass -- a culture of acceptance and self worth, and John's steady, unwavering belief in his students comes through boldly.

John Annoni with Jay, one of his students. Photo by Marilú López-Fretts

Everything at Camp Compass is about the youth. It is a well designed, well-oiled machine that gets kids from the toughest, inner-city neighborhoods to believe in themselves and understand the strength, knowledge, and beauty that lies within. Camp Compass welcomes kids who come from broken homes and may have few adults believing in them -- kids who may have given up. The program is rigorous and academically challenging, while prioritizing messages of self-acceptance, love, and a belief that they are capable of achieving absolutely anything. It becomes home for the long-haul.

Camp Compass students with José Miguel and Fanny. Photo by Marilú López-Fretts

By interspersing knowledge about hunting, fishing, gun safety, and the outdoors, with math and writing, the students earn trips out into the woods. The kids stay laser-focused on the end-goal and are determined to succeed. When asked what they like best about the program, they all say that getting outside into the woods gives them peace, freedom to be themselves, and strength.

Jay practices target shooting. Photo by Marilú López-Fretts

The students talked with pride about their knowledge of gun safety (and indicated how many kids their age have access to guns with little knowledge about safety), and about how they feel accepted just as they are. The youth are well spoken and focused on the future. Their love for John and for the program is clear!

Camp Compass is a program like no other - and we are proud that this community-based organization and its remarkable leader are part of our work to increase equity and inclusion in the sciences, conservation, and environmental programming.

Our Research Methods

Our research is led by fifteen community leaders from historically underrepresented communities in the sciences. They lead community-based participatory research in collaboration with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and have engaged a total of thirty community-based organization perspectives to better understand equity, diversity, and inclusion in citizen science. The questions, methods, analysis, results, and dissemination are determined by these researchers. 

They began their work three years ago out of frustration that their community voices were remaining unheard in the sciences and a strong distrust of dominant culture institutions that hold the balance of power and have been called on by funders to solve problems in their communities.

This work has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF DRL#1422022).

Photo by Marilú López-Fretts

From Cuba to 'Cuse

Our partner José Miguel Hernandez Hurtado Manresa Molina… performs during his His one-man show, “From Cuba to ‘Cuse” in Syracuse, New York. In this personal story of growing up in Cuba and the culture clash he encountered upon immigrating to the United States, he shared stories that resonate with our community perspectives on equity, diversity and inclusion.

Arrogance

"When one side is historically resourced and the other under-resourced, economically, then there is a tendency towards arrogance on the part of the former and distrust on the part of the latter. So first, the arrangement needs to be rectified…"

ICBO Research

Presenting at the Outdoor Mentoring Alliance Summit

John Annoni, CEO of Camp Compass and one of the Power 30 ICBOs, presents at the National Outdoor Mentoring Alliance Summit last June in Nebraska. Check out John’s amazing work with youth at http://www.campcompass.org/