COLLABORATIVE AND PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH IN URBAN SOCIAL-PLANNING ANDRESTRUCTURING - ANTHROPOLOGICAL EXPERIENCES FROM A MEDIUM-SIZED CANADIAN CITY

The main claim of this article is that anthropologists have advantages by maintaining generalist, non-specialist, or ''rover'' roles in appl ied urban research. These strengths are related to current policy cont exts where public sector deficits compel many jurisdictions to restruc ture and integrate the components of government and non-government hum an service delivery at the local level. The author elaborates on these claims through discussions of-anthropological contributions and poten tials regarding perspectives, issues, and methodologies associated wit h needs assessments, health promotion, and collaborative and participa tory/action research. These, and other implications, are illustrated t hrough five research and policy involvements in Saskatoon, Saskatchewa n, a city of 188,000. The projects included: a multi-component communi ty needs assessment for the local United Way, participation in a socia l planning council with an emphasis on social indicators and child wel l-being, participation in a health promotion research center, an explo ration of indicators of immigrant and refugee adaptation, and research into the informational needs of the visually impaired.