Why we wrote this guide
Northern researchers are ever-aware of the growing expectations on them to ensure
that northern communities are involved in, and benefit from, research. But what are researchers really being asked to do? How can community members participate meaningfully
in research? What level of community involvement is appropriate in a given project? What
are the best ways to communicate with local people? How can researchers initiate and
maintain a meaningful relationship with community members? This guide is an attempt
to address these questions, and provide practical advice to assist researchers
who plan to work with, or in the vicinity of, Canadian Inuit communities in the
regions of Nunatsiavut (Labrador), Nunavik (northern Québec), Nunavut, and
the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the Northwest Territories (NWT) (Map 1).This
guide presents some core “universal” themes in communication and relationship-building
that apply to natural, physical, biological, and social scientists working in the Canadian
North. A range of information is provided to help researchers tailor ideas to their specific
project objectives, whether they are just beginning or they wish to improve ongoing community-researcher relationships.
This guide was written as a follow-up, and complement, to the 1998 joint Nunavut
Research Institute/Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami booklet entitled Negotiating Research Relationships: A Guide for Communities. That guide was written to help Inuit community members understand their rights and responsibilities in negotiating research
relationships. This guide is written to help researchers:
❖ understand some community concerns and expectations in relation to research
projects;
❖ understand the benefits, opportunities and challenges associated with engaging
Inuit communities in research;
❖ determine appropriate levels of community involvement in various research
stages;
❖ initiate community contact and begin the process of negotiating a research
relationship;
❖ clarify the research licensing processes and timelines and establish early contact
with organizations responsible for research coordination, permitting, and licensing in each of the Canadian Inuit regions; and,
❖ choose appropriate and effective means to communicate research results to
communities.
Ultimately, this guide aims to improve the process of negotiating research relationships with Inuit communities in Canada.
A G UIDE F OR R ESEARCHERS
❖
1