Democracy, whatever its imperfections, provides a relatively hospitable environment for research.
The events at the beginning of this year in France bring me to recommit to research which benefits all human beings – all races, age groups, genders, ethnicities, nationalities, and religions. Extremists in their many forms – Muslim radical jihadists, Christian radical fundamentalists, hyper-politically correct liberals, and obdurately reactionary conservatives, for example – frequently dislike, even condemn, research. Totalitarian regimes suppress free-thinkers, journalists, artists, researchers and anyone else who seeks to promote transparency, see through diverse lenses, or challenge the status quo.
No single person or entity owns the “truth.” The truth emerges and evolves through the collective efforts of people with disparate vantage points – we strive to discover it, we approach it, we never fully know it. The best researchers never cease the search. They continually challenge the beliefs which they themselves and others hold, in order to increase understanding of social issues, human biology and health, the environment, or whatever their focus of study. We move forward with determination – hoping that we know more now than we did previously, and recognizing that we know less now than we will know in the future.
The murderers in France represent visible threats to the advancement of knowledge and understanding. As researchers, we frequently confront less visible, but perhaps even more pernicious and insidious, threats. Vested interests sometimes promote biased research, or suppress or vilify valid research. Certain nonprofit programs and professionals committed to one variety of treatment or service resist study of their activity to prevent discovery that such activity does not work; some political activists and advocates consider research a potential threat to their ideologies and/or their power over their constituencies.
At Wilder Research, we collaborate actively with many individuals and organizations who seek to gain knowledge and understanding with the goal of greater positive impact on society. The majority of you fall into this camp. You constitute the "reasonable middle", not an extreme fringe; you hold varied points of view, and may disagree with one another and with us regarding what research findings mean, but you have a willingness to respect different viewpoints and to find common ground. You take risks; you learn by trial and error; you have no hesitation to try something new, fail, and then try something else. You promote the use of research, the transparency of information, and the discussion of facts as we know them. Partnership with you enables us to collectively improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities, locally and throughout the world.
We do our work objectively, creatively, beholden to no vested interest, political group or ideology, save our commitment and passion for improving human well-being.
So, how can you expect Wilder Research to push the envelope, promote transparency, create new understanding, and collaborate with you in diverse communities, nonprofit programs, government agencies, and foundations in 2015?
We plan to continue to promote health – a human right – within our communities. We hope that our efforts – research on the effectiveness of systems of care, evaluation studies, health impact assessments, convening and engaging public officials and community members – can transform that right into reality for everyone. For example, one ambitious analysis this year will include input from all 87 counties in the state, as well as interested tribes, community partners, and consumers, to examine gaps in services for older adults, persons with disabilities, adults and children living with mental health challenges, and persons affected by a traumatic brain injury.
Young people always comprise a special focus for Wilder Research – their physical and mental health, their systems of support, their educational achievement. Our well-being depends upon the existence of educated community members, with technical and social skills suitable for the 21st century, as well as with the wisdom to participate in an equitable, democratic society. So, we will continue to promote the education of young people. For example, our efforts in 2015 include collaboration with Generation Next, Northside Achievement Zone, and The Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood, improving the educational achievement of youth affected by parental incarceration in Minnesota, and promoting the quality, availability, and effectiveness of out-of-school time learning. Some of our work specifically intends to disrupt and prevent the exploitation of young people through sex trafficking.
From our initial housing and health studies in 1917 to our current statewide homeless surveys and Homeless Management Information System, Wilder Research has devoted energy to promoting the human right of adequate shelter for all. We hope this year to promote the “coordinated assessment” of people who find themselves homeless, by increasing the capacity of Minnesota’s Homeless Management Information System, an on-line database used by 250 service providers, to assist those providers to deliver services more efficiently and effectively.
We will continue to support communities to strengthen themselves. Good research enables people to act to improve their lives. Efforts in 2015 include providing more information to neighborhoods in our larger cities, as well as to small towns, so that residents can monitor their quality of life and take action to improve it. We will work with ethnic communities who collaborated with us to shape the Speaking for Ourselves project, which gathered information directly from residents regarding their quality of life, living conditions, and needs.
We value our relationships with you. The activities mentioned above represent just a fraction of the close to 200 projects that our 92 employees will work on during 2015 – a year during which, more than ever, we must continue our quest for knowledge and understanding, as diverse people united in defiance of forces, violent and nonviolent, which promote narrow, partisan ideologies for discovering the truth.
For more details on this year’s projects, visit Wilder Research on the web.
