Collaborative Research in a Post-Katrina Environment: The Facilitation, Communication, and Ethical Considerations of University Researchers.

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina brought devastation and confusion to the Mississippi Gulf Coast region on August 29, 2005. A desperate need for leadership, collaboration, and coordination of relief and recovery e orts was revealed during a March 2007 strategic planning session involving 96 organizations, groups, agencies, and researchers working in the area. As an outgrowth of the planning session, the InterUniversity Collaborative Research, Relief, and Recovery Initiative was formed March 14, 2008, with the purpose of developing a better understanding of the research process after a natural disaster and the roles of university researchers and social service providers in conducting the research. A qualitative study of the group's initial collaborative discussions was conducted implementing focus group methodology. Participants of the study included nine researchers and six social service providers working in the postKatrina environment. Results showed needs for collaboration among researchers and social workers and the establishment of research parameters sensitive to the cultural context of this post-disaster region. note: This module has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and sanctioned by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) as a scholarly contribution to the knowledge base in educational administration. ∗Version 1.1: Sep 29, 2008 2:38 pm -0500 †http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ http://cnx.org/content/m17576/1.1/ OpenStax-CNX module: m17576 2 Described as the worst natural disaster in American history, the unprecedented magnitude of devastation left by Hurricane Katrina signi cantly impacted the lives of more than 1.5 million people as it made land-fall along the Mississippi Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. According to the Department of Homeland Security (2005), the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina revealed a trail of death and destruction throughout the Gulf Coast states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi resulting in approximately 90,000 square miles, about the size of Great Britain, designated as national disaster areas. Goodnough (2005) noted that Hurricane Katrina was responsible for the deaths of at least 1,200 people and the destruction of property valued in billions of dollars. In the immediate aftermath of disasters, responders often feel compelled to help in any way they can (Madrid & Grant, 2008). This was also the case for the Katrina-impacted regions as public and private organizations, social service agencies, religious groups, and individuals across the nation responded to help provide relief and recovery assistance. Unfortunately, there was little or no direction for these groups or coordination of their e orts. Without the bene t of communication or collaboration among these groups, often there was duplication of some critical services while many needs were not addressed. In the absence of e ective local, state, or federal crisis plans to deal with a disaster of this magnitude, the impact of Katrina on the physical and social needs of victims continued to escalate beyond the human loss and the physical destruction directly attributed to the storm (Seidenberg, 2006). In an e ort to help facilitate communication among those providing assistance in the post-Katrina environment, two researchers from a university in southern Mississippi were asked by the Hancock Katrina Relief Initiative group to plan and facilitate a strategic planning session for Hancock County, Mississippi, assistance workers. Attending this collaborative meeting on March 12, 2007, were 96 participants including representatives from local, state, and national government o ces and departments; social service agencies; educational institutions; medical providers; community service organizations; faith-based groups; and volunteers providing relief and recovery e orts immediately after the storm. Discussions among this group revealed an urgent need for essential organization, communication, and coordination of relief and recovery e orts. From this initial planning session, including university researchers desirous of conducting research among the victims of Hurricane Katrina and several social service providers working in the Katrina impacted regions of Mississippi, a new initiative involving academia began to take root and develop. The Inter-University Collaborative Research, Relief, and Recovery Initiative was formed on March 14, 2008, as a purposeful community of learners (Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005) focused on developing a better understanding of the research process after a natural disaster. Based on a foundation of theoretical research regarding collaborative leadership, the following qualitative study was conducted during the initial collaborative meeting of the Inter-University Collaborative Research, Relief, and Recovery Initiative. The purpose of the study was to develop a better understanding and add to the body of knowledge regarding the research process after a natural disaster and the roles of university researchers and social service providers in conducting the research. Speci cally, the researchers identi ed the needs and perceptions of university researchers and social service providers working in the post-Katrina environment of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and suggested approaches for conducting research in this region. 1 Review of the Literature Within education, the term collaboration is continually re-inventing itself as emerging technology developments, globalization, innovative pedagogies, and a plethora of issues dictate change. Collaborative e orts in leadership, teaching, and research are considered exemplary practices (Marzano, Waters, McNulty, 2005). Collaboration is a unique phenomenon, unique in the sense that it blends the contributions of individuals within a group dynamic. It is a meshing of intellectual and social processes that creates a synthesis of shared thoughts and ideas. Rooted in leadership theory, individuals build a community of learners as they work interdependently within a group engaged in collective inquiry about a given problem the group faces (DeFour & Eaker, 1998). Marzano, Waters, and McNulty (2005) referred to a community of learners as a purposeful community http://cnx.org/content/m17576/1.1/ OpenStax-CNX module: m17576 3 utilizing distributive leadership, implying shared responsibility and mutual accountability when working toward a common goal. Distributed leadership creates conditions for maximizing the collective strengths of all individuals within an organization as they strive to adapt, learn, and grow. The components of the purposeful community include collective e cacy, the capability to develop and use assets to accomplish purposes, and outcomes that matter to all community members through agreed upon processes. Collective e cacy is de ned as the shared perception or belief held by a group that the group can organize and execute a course of action that makes a di erence (Goddard, 2001, p. 469). DeFour and Eaker (1998) contended that collaborative teams form a solid foundation as they engage in collective inquiry and focus on improvement. He refers to the collaborative team as a professional learning community (PLC) with the goal of nding common ground as the team solves problems together. The PLC shares a common vision and mission structured around shared values and goals, collective inquiry, and continuous improvement. What distinguishes a learning community from other groups is its collective commitment to guiding principles that articulate the beliefs and govern the actions and behaviors of the group. Collective inquiry results in the group challenging the status quo, seeking new and improved methods of achieving goals, and re ecting on the results. Through the collective inquiry process, the group re ects publicly on their beliefs and challenges the beliefs of others as they hammer out common meanings, plan and test actions, and coordinate the actions of the group. The group practices that underlie learning organizations are seen as a means of producing more e ective organizations. Deming (1986) argued in his work on total quality management that quality is achieved through constant incremental improvement and that teams facilitate the necessary communication and feedback for ongoing organizational improvement. Senge (1990) focused on ve disciplines that are characteristic of highly e ective businesses: team learning, shared organizational vision, systems thinking, individual mastery, and mental modeling. Both theorists contend that working in focused collaborative teams contributes to productive learning organizations. To develop e ective group practices, individuals must interact or form relationships in productive and unique ways. Wenger (1998) developed a social theory of learning labeled communities of practice. He identi ed three key components of the theory relative to individual group members: (a) participate in communities of practice and engage mutually in the task at hand; (b) collaboratively negotiate the focus of the group; and (c) develop a set of common practices to share their work. Wenger explained a community of practice as a matter of sustaining enough mutual engagement in an e ort to share signi cant learning experiences. Fullan (1994) shared that a system of accountability grows out of relationships between local autonomy and the creation of professional communities with shared purpose and high levels of collaboration. Mattessich and Monsey (1992) de ned collaboration as a commitment to mutual relationships, jointly developed structures, shared responsibility, mutual authority and accountability, and sharing of resources and rewards. This theory reveals that a layer of individual accountability and motivation for achievement of the goals of the group will grow as relationships are formed through collaborative learning communities. Using data can be a powerful mechanism for bringing members of a