Trialling best practice guiding principles
Draft content for SPEaR's best practice guidelines will be examined and further developed in a workshop on 10-11 May. Earlier developments have led to five guiding principles being selected to frame the more specific content which applies to working with Māori and Pasifika peoples, and which guide ethics and contracting practice. The principles are: respect, integrity, responsiveness, competency and reciprocity (see SPEaR Bulletin, December 2004).
Sue Walker, convener of SPEaR's best practice working group, said the next event would bring the participants of the first workshops together to test the principles, their application in research and evaluation, and the selection of illustrative case material. "They'll apply the principles to the research process to see how they work and where the gaps are. The participants will have mock-up case studies and apply the draft material to all stages of a project: from planning and scoping, to commissioning, to undertaking, to analysis, reporting and utilisation. We want to build advice linking to the principles so the material is useful in a practical way."
The guidelines will be a web-based resource, supported by examples of best practice, references, and useful contacts. Sue said after the workshops, the guidelines would be trialled in several agencies, and it was hoped to have them finalised and published by October.
Contact: raewyn.good002@msd.govt.nz
