Proxy Indicators

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Because some official Lokah Initiative projects are completed and others are presently on pause, this research takes a combination formative/summative approach. An ex-post summative approach focused on outcomes is used to examine the sub-projects under the Lokah umbrella that have been already completed. At the same time, the informal continuation of Lokah relationships and the continuation of other subprojects allows a reflective review of project direction as well as a formative evaluation of processes, with an emphasis on learning from the changes to intangible experiences during the project.

3.2 Proxy Indicators

Grounding criteria that have previously identified in a broad context of literature include trust, reciprocity, and collaboration found in relationships and social networks developed during projects/processes (Bennett et al., 2012; Blackstock, Waylen, Dunglinson, &

Marshall, 2012). Many authors have linked the development of social capital with other changes that occur within communities (Bennett et al., 2012; Blackstock et al., 2007, 2012; Klain, Beveridge, & Bennett, 2014) and suggest that increased social capital can result from developmental and tourism programs. From their theoretical perspective, scholars of agency theory have found similar factors to mediate principal-agent relationships, including fairness (or conversely unfairness) trust, and reciprocity (for example, see Bosse, Phillips, & Phillips, 2016; van Puyvelde, Caers, du Bois, & Jegers, 2012; Johnson & Droege, 2004; respectively)

As such, the grounding criteria chosen for the present study has been determined as social capital, specifically along the dimensions of trust and reciprocity between the research team and the community. These criteria can be used to measure processes and outcomes both during a long-term, ongoing project in order to gain insight into issues that may be hidden or overlooked due to political or power issues.

This work does not seek to quantify the specific economic impacts of the Lokah

Initiative. While strict economic indicators are relatively more amenable to measurement,

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there are difficulties in the determination of what is actually considered a “good” result (Blackstock et al., 2012). In some cases, while economic benefits have been measured and seen, ratings of community wellbeing have not been shown to have significantly improved (Vining & Richards, 2016). Thus, it can be problematic to assume purely economic variables as a standard measure of wellbeing. Rather, this study seeks to evaluate the intangible and ongoing processes of building social capital through trust and reciprocity, which have been related to community benefits (Ansari et al., 2012). As those authors claim, “Qualitative research may inform what types of barriers exist in creating structural, relational, and cognitive social capital…for effective capability transfer”. While Ansari et al were referring to relations between businesses and

communities, capability transfers between any outside group with expertise and a local community would be expected to benefit from this research direction. This interim step can be valuable in several different ways: as a way to inform and improve “best

practices” in the present case study, as a way to provide skills that can be used for incoming researchers and practitioners.

It can be challenging to assess the diffusion of technologies (for example in energy efficiency), and social technologies can also be difficult to quantify. When looking at such a factor that is difficult, if not impossible to observe directly, researchers must instead infer the existence of the factor through proxy variables. Due to the difficulties in direct observation and measurement of social capital, perceptions of trust, fairness, and reciprocity between the researchers and the target community as proxy indicators for relational social capital. These proxy indicators have a history of use across broad situations; for example, in studies of Madagascar traders, Malian farmers, and post conflict analyses in Cambodia and Rwanda (Grootaert & Van Bastelaer, 2002). These are chosen as variables in this study.

The semi-structured interview outline (appendix 1) was developed by bringing together work on social capital dimension of capital assets framework and perspectives on the social capital dimension of agency theory and evaluation. The three-part interview

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outline was intended to develop an understanding of the perceived level of social capital through proxy variables of trust and reciprocity over the course of the Lokah Initiative and in various Lokah related subprojects. Social capital in this sense can refer to that which can be held or mobilized by individuals and that can exist at the group level. The interviews were meant to be open-ended enough to allow for the values and perspectives of the interviewees to be considered.

In order to gain insight into the diversity of views, interview subjects were chosen to represent the heterogeneity of project stakeholders. These included academics and scholars (both Han and Atayal), local business people, project staff, and local workers and volunteers. Some interviewees were chosen due to their positions and/or participation within the project, others from introductions or by suggestions of prior interviewees, and some were met during field study.

Interviews were made by appointment, or spontaneously as the opportunities presented themselves. They followed a semi-structured format, open ended with discussion points that gave the interviewer the ability to adapt to the ongoing conversation. Interviews were recorded when possible, though in some cases a recording device was not used in order to keep conversations natural and informal. In these cases, notes were made at the earliest opportunity rather than during the conversation so as to not interrupt or create

self-consciousness on behalf of the interviewee. The majority of interviews were conducted in English, with some being held in Mandarin Chinese or a combination of the two

languages.

In total twelve people were approached over a period of approximately five weeks. Of the twelve people contacted, half were female and half were male. Three interviewees were Han Chinese, eight were Atayal, and one was of mixed descent. These included

interviews with the head investigator of the Lokah Initiative Ching-Ping Tang,

researchers Yueh-Po Huang and You-Lin Tsai, two students and members of the Wulai

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Atayal community who worked as support staff. In addition, three conversations took place with female community members who participate in local craft businesses, one of whom is an indigenous member of the weaving association. Two of these subjects are Atayal and one is a Han Chinese whose family has lived in Wulai for two generations. A further interview was held with a local Atayal resident who acted as a volunteer and community organizer. Other conversations included a teacher from the National Taipei University of Education and an Indigenous community activist who now resides outside of Wulai.

Interviews conducted in person lasted approximately one hour. Two were held at Academia Sinica, on National Chengchi University campus and a nearby coffee shop.

Two interviews were held at the home of a Wulai resident with other discussion taking place at an Indigenous cultural festival and at the site of the “Old House”. Two interviews took place online using Skype or Facebook messenger services, lasting between forty-five minutes to one hour, with brief follow-up conducted through Facebook messaging.

Several conversations occurred at locations in Wulai shops. One conversation took place at Pinglin district.

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In light of the challenges faced by the Wulai Atayal and with a goal of rebalancing economic and social agendas, an action research team consisting of faculty, researchers, staff, and students was put together at National Chengchi University in Taiwan.

Originally inspired by successful cases of alternative development strategies, the group seeks to undertake research that aims to generate scholarly knowledge and improve social action at the same time, something that could be ideally suited to matching the needs of the disempowered population with expert knowledge from academia. It is in this vein that the Lokah Project was begun.

The title of the Initiative, “Lokah”, was chosen for its welcoming meaning. Somewhat similar to the Hawaiian term “Aloha”, the greeting contains a basic meaning of

welcoming, compassion, and kindness, as well as a call for internal strength.⁸ The

group’s goal was to perform action research to help the local people through an ambitious

“craft renaissance” program. Designed from the start as a way to combine ethno-tourism, environmental awareness, social justice, education, and strengthening of traditional values and institutions, the program aims to promote traditional Atayal hand weaving businesses. Woven products are a sought-after tourism product, and the weavers already had an organizational base in the form of a weaving association.

However, the research team ran into two sets of difficulties in bringing local people onboard. First, the area had long been exposed to well-meaning but ultimately ineffective development projects that in the end led locals to place little value on further cooperation, as financial support for projects was often withdrawn without notice or transparency, and without concrete results being achieved. Second, residents often rushed to compete for

8 Considering the linguistic and genetic connections between Taiwanese Indigenous peoples this term could also be seen as a call to solidarity among a wide group of South East Asian indigenous peoples. The wider regional connections between these and other indigenous peoples has been discussed by Tony Coolidge (Hose, 2010).