Quaker Approach to Research: Collaborative Practice and Communal Discernment

A Quaker Approach to Research: Collaborative Practice and Communal Discernment grows out of a decade of experiments employing Quaker processes of communal discernment in research in the context of public policy, academic study, and community-based research. The guiding hypothesis has been that the methods developed by Quakers for spirit led governance could be adapted for spirit led research. The aim of this pamphlet is to describe 1) the vision, theory, and traditions of practice inspiring a Quaker approach to research; 2) experiments with specific methods used; 3) initial results and findings; and 4) the key challenges and puzzles that remain. It further aims to explore the relevance of Quaker process when the participants are not Quaker or even religious.