Groups Structure and Roles

Introduction

The data for the needs assessment will be generated through a series of focus groups held with key stakeholders in the local community.

This process will build the research skill capability of local volunteers in the Research Group who will be trained to turn the needs identified by the focus groups - selecting key themes from focus group sessions and preparing the final reports. This process is detailed below.

The Focus Group process

1. Identify the focus group participants:

Focus group representatives will be drawn from the following Community Sectors:

• Tangata whenua
• Tagata Pacifica
• Community groups
• Community based social service and health providers
• Young people
• Older people
• Unemployed people
• Education providers: including schools, wananga, polytechnic and private providers
• Government agencies
• Rural businesses
• Town based (Tokoroa) businesses
• Tirau Community

Focus groups will be conducted in the languages, and at locations, appropriate to the participants.

2. Identify focus group leaders

Volunteers from the local ICT network who are also members of each of the focus group target populations have been identified.

3. Preparing the briefs for the Focus Groups

The Research Team meeting of 28.3.03 helped to identify some key questions for the focus groups and develop a recruitment plan for inviting focus group participants.

Margaret Richardson of Waikato University will meet with the focus group leaders to:

• Introduce the concept of focus groups
• Work through the ethics of this method
• Develop scripts for the focus groups
• Review the recruitment plan 
• Agree the timescale for conducting the focus groups (she or her representatives will attend the focus groups), and completing the research reports.

The Research Process

Once the focus groups have taken place, and material has been translated and transcribed, the Focus Group leaders will attend a workshop with Waikato University to identify key themes, quotes and report structures. Draft reports will then be developed by the focus group leaders and submitted to Margaret Richardson for review and edit. A further meeting between Margaret and the focus group leaders will review the work to date and finalise the research report.

Skilled Focus Group facilitators from Waikato University’s Management School are giving their expertise, for out of pocket expenses only. The research objectives are as follows:

• To identify current use of ICT for community and economic development.
• To identify barriers to uptake of ICT generally and existing local ICT provisions specifically.
• To explore solutions to those barriers.
• To identify potential local economic opportunities relating to ICT.
• To assess the potential impact of ICT on existing community and economic infrastructures and organisations.

Timeline

The training for the focus group leaders will be completed by 7th May 2003.
The focus group meetings will take place during May 2003.
The draft reports from the focus groups will be completed by 20th June 2003, with the final report submitted by 20th June 2003.