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Participant observation parallels the principles of community based participatory research (CBPR), recognizing that each community should be understood in its own context. Using fieldnotes from the Métis Settlements Life Skills Journey (MSLSJ) program, the authors explore the benefits and challenges of using participant observation in CBPR program evaluation. Participant observation was incorporated in 2014 and 2015 as researchers sought a complementary perspective and context to determine the impact of the program. The authors explore relationships with a large number of stakeholders (children, facilitators, community members, and project staff) and discuss ensuring the participant observer's perspective is not privileged above others.

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an important means of connecting the perspectives of community members with critical social issues, such as health and wellness. As beneficial as CBPR can be, effective engagement with community members remains a difficult goal to achieve. In this article, we draw on the international literature around needs and readiness assessments to explore their potential for establishing solid foundations for engaged research. We examine the stages and dimensions identified in the literature, and use these as a framework for a needs and readiness assessment project undertaken with a Métis Settlement community in Alberta, Canada. We share how the needs and readiness assessments helped to foster the emergence of community priorities, informing the next steps in research design, program content and evaluation methods, and heightening community-university engagement. It is our hope that our example of engagement, which focuses on the role of needs and readiness assessments in strengthening community-university partnerships, will better inform engagement approaches so that they become relevant, culturally appropriate and community specific.

Keywords: Métis, Aboriginal, community-based participatory research, needs assessment, readiness assessment, community-university partnership

Mapping serves as a metaphor for where we are now, where we have been, and where we are going. In this paper the authors illustrate the use of outcome mapping as a methodological framework for documenting the planning, monitoring, and evaluation process for the Métis Settlements Life Skills Journey (MSLSJ) project. The MSLSJ is a multi-year, multi-site, multi-method research project. It is centered on building relationships and facilitating knowledge exchange between the University of Alberta team, Métis Settlement Councils and administrators, and Settlement members. We highlight how the outcome mapping framework enables us to document project processes through the identification of key boundary partners and strategies in support of learning. Outcome mapping became a reflective and strategic tool for the MSLSJ project, reflecting on six years of data from seven sites, representing over 430 participants, and guiding the project forward.