The Methodological Toolbox

What is a ‘methodological toolbox’?

Our ‘methodological toolbox’ is a kit of useful tools, tips and hints  to help researchers design a truly collaborative research project. The toolbox has been built to be as accessible as possible and can be used by anyone, from scientists to policy-makers to fishermen, interested in finding out more about  participatory research processes.


Who made this?

The GAP2 team has put together the Methodological Toolbox, based on their work on a range of fisheries across Europe. The different authors of the toolbox are mostly scientists, including both natural and social scientists, and they have based their contributions on lessons learnt from our 13 participatory research case studies in fisheries science across the continent.

Why?

GAP2 is about exploring the value of collaborative approaches in scientific research. GAP projects bring together all possible stakeholders in an environment, in this case fisheries, to help ensure long-term, sustainable outcomes. But bringing together different groups of stakeholders into a scientific process is not always easy, and many different factors need to be taken into account at all stages of research design, implementation and dissemination. With wide-ranging international experience of the bonuses and pitfalls of participatory research, GAP colleagues have designed the toolbox to help disseminate best practice in collaborative approaches, and contribute to the scientific dialogue in fisheries management in the EU. The toolbox can also be used by researchers in any other field.

How can I use it?

Simply click on the toolbax to start navigating around the toolbox and see what it has to offer! Alternatively, if you would like to download the toolbox as a complete text document, click on the download option.