UW iSchool Strategic Research Fund

The objects of this pilot project will enable long-term research opportunities with the Maijuna. First, funding will allow us to build the capacity of an interdisciplinary team of researchers and students to engage in this community-based work. SRF funding will enable scholars in social science, computer science, and the biological science to travel to and build connections with the Maijuna. Second, the project will allow us to answer basic questions about Maijuna understandings of and desires for digital connectivity, including imagined use cases for a community network. Since many Maijuna have little experience with the Internet, or other forms of connectivity, this will provide important baseline insights into how largely disconnected indigenous communities think about and use technology. Answers will help the researchers understand how a community network might be implemented to best support the Maijuna, and how it might enable future socio-cultural and conservation projects in collaboration with the Maijuna. They will also provide more generalized social science insights into indigenous perceptions of digital connectivity. Third, the researchers will increase the capacity of the Maijuna to make informed decisions about pursuing connectivity, and assist them in those decisions. This will allow the Maijuna to better understand the opportunities and dangers of implementing a network in their communities, so that they can be full research partners in future work.