ICR Research: Cost of The Troubles Study

THE COST OF THE TROUBLES STUDY

The Cost of the Troubles Study Ltd was established as a recognised charity and a limited company, with a board of directors composed of a team of people from all parts of the religious/political spectrum who have all been directly affected by the violence of the Troubles.

The Board also contained two researchers, Marie Smyth and Mike Morrissey, both from the University of Ulster. The project employed Marie-Therese Fay as Research Officer; Grainne Kelly as a Researcher and Gwen Ford as Project Administrator.

The Cost of the Troubles Study conducted action research which:

Established a directory of self-help groups and other organisations which offer support to those affected by the Troubles;
Facilitated the building of a network throughout Northern Ireland among such groups and grass roots organisations;
Documented the nature and extent of the effect of the Troubles on the population of Northern Ireland;
Established a credible measure of the distribution of the Troubles in the six counties, and quantifies the relationship between the Troubles and deprivation;
Created a range of well researched and accessible sources of qualitative and statistical information on the impact of the Troubles on the broad range of people contained in the population.

This material was written and disseminated in ways which maximise its accessibility, both to people in affected communities and to the general public. It was also presented in a manner whereby it can be used by groups to argue for further resources for their self-help and other programmes.

How was it done?

By using a participative action research approach, which assumes that research is not a neutral activity, but that the research should make a positive contribution to those individuals and organisations participating in it;
By bringing research expertise to work in partnership with grass roots organisations, in a way that is democratically accountable;
By establishing and maintaining working relationships with individuals and groups who have direct experience in the field, and by using their expertise in the work of the project;
By using credible and professional qualitative and quantitative research techniques, and producing work which was both accessible to local people and capable of withstanding academic scrutiny.

One of the most devastating effects of the Troubles on people affected by the violence has been the sense of disempowerment that many feel. We planned research as a team composed of those who have been physically and emotionally affected by the troubles and researchers working togetrher in partnership. Collaboration across the sectarian divide was also a significant part of the work of the project. The Directors and Researchers were drawn from both sides of the sectarian divide and this was explicitly designed to ensure inclusiveness and to inform methods of work and the analysis.

Why was it done?

Research on the effects of the Troubles had largely been psychiatric or psychological, and had focused on specific populations, such as the Enniskillen bomb victims, There had been only one study which looked at the long term affects (20+ years) of violent loss in the Troubles. Little or nothing was known about the extent of the impact of the Troubles on the population as a whole. Those who do not seek services, - but nonetheless have suffered effects - were undocumented. This lack of epidemiological information meant that policy and service provision had been piecemeal or non-existent, partly because of piecemeal information,

What is the value of it?

The study provided reliable, non-sensationalist and ethically collected data on individual experiences of the Troubles. This can act as an alternative source to some existing sources which do not share these characteristics, and provided data for the first time on groups and individuals whose experiences had been under-represented. The establishment of the prevalence of Troubles-related difficulties in the total population is of value to policy-makers, and DHSS staff described the availability of such data as very valuable. The study also explored the relationship between Troubles-related difficulties and deprivation, and this part of the study had implications for a broad range of policy areas, including all of those agencies currently who are involved in using frameworks to target social need.

How did we do it?

We carried out interviews with men and women, old and young, Catholic, Protestant and "other", from various parts of Northern Ireland. These interviews provided a variety of personal stories of people's experiences of the Troubles. We carried out a survey of a sample of 3,000 people throughout Northern Ireland and asked people about the economic, health, social, occupational and other effects of the Troubles on them.

We published the results of the survey, so that voluntary and government agencies could take into account the effects of the Troubles and so that everyone can become more aware of the issues and the situations in which people continue to live.

What have people got out of it?

People we interview are listened to respectfully, and had the chance to tell their story and have it listened to and carefully recorded. This record has been handled with discretion and confidentiality guaranteed for those who wished it. This can be valuable in a situation where some people have the sense that no-one listens to them. When people wanted us to, we put them in touch with helping agencies. Trained interviewers gave people information about where to go for advice and help should they need it, how to help themselves, and what voluntary groups existed for people affected by the troubles.

The Cost of the Troubles Study was funded by the Central Community Relations Unit; Making Belfast Work, North & West Teams; The Special Support Programme for Peace & Reconciliation through N.I.V.T.; The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and private donation.