Centering and collaborating with community knowledge systems: piloting a novel participatory modeling approach

Area of Science:

• Systems science
• Community-based participatory research
• Simulation modeling

Background:

• Community knowledge holders (elders, leaders, researchers) possess historic and contextual knowledge.
• A systematic methodology is needed to collaborate with community knowledge bearers and interpreters.
• Persistent poverty in urban African American communities is a complex issue requiring community-informed approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot a systematic methodology for collaborating with community knowledge bearers and interpreters.
• To develop a conceptual model of local-level influences shaping community realities, using persistent poverty as a use case.
• To reveal the architecture of systems influencing lived experiences of poverty.

Main Methods:

• A 7-session participatory modeling approach was piloted.
• Key steps included recruitment, relationship building, vignette development and analysis, and constructing an architecture of systems map.
• Community members collaborated to analyze lived experiences and map systemic factors.

Main Results:

• The approach generated valuable artifacts for both community and research.
• Vignette construction produced narratives of diverse lived experiences.
• Collaborative analysis yielded an Architecture of Systemic Factors map, illustrating inter-relationships in poverty.
• Community contextualized existing research through lived experience narratives.

Conclusions:

• Community knowledge bearers can effectively communicate, interpret, and contextualize research.
• Participatory modeling enables collaborative construction of conceptual maps for simulation.
• Community collaboration enriches existing research by integrating disparate findings within lived experience narratives.