Getting to Know Ourselves and Our Places Through Participation in Civic Social Assessment

Civic science (involving citizens as researchers) expands opportunities for learning among citizens, scientists, and managers. Citizens have knowledge that often is inaccessible using traditional research methods. How we think about places - be they communities, forests, or a forest site - frames and often limits what we can discover. This is especially true when we are interested in learning about the relations between people and places that are important to them. Limiting ourselves to traditional research methods results in incomplete knowledge and limited understanding. This paper reports on a study that used nontraditional research methods to actively involve citizens in a community assessment process. The paper (1) demonstrates that researchers can gain a more complete understanding of social systems using nontraditional methods; (2) illustrates how people can reconnect with their community and gain a new understanding of themselves and others through engagement in a self assessment process; and (3) describes one example of civic science used in community assessment.