Foundations of Gathering

Because pragmatic fieldwork is ultimately a community enterprise, gathering becomes a key practice. Pragmatic fieldworkers must gather people and resources for knowledge and action. People must be brought together in order to know together. Part of producing knowledge means gathering people. Academics are very familiar with a form of community gathering called the literature review. The academic community is diffused over both time and space, a community reality enabled by information technology (like writing and high speed internet). Gathering the writings of one’s academic community girds the practices of nearly all academic traditions. The pragmatic fieldworker can also try to gather other stakeholding knowledge communities. Facilitating connections between relevant communities lies at the heart of pragmatic fieldwork. 

Gathering people and resources also enables action. Material resources, like funding, food, and meeting places get taken up by mission-driven people. This means recruiting volunteers or staff, writing grants, and running fundraisers. Gathering creates the social and material conditions that constitute community.

Skill Development for Gather

Fieldworkers can gather better by developing techniques for recruitment and facilitation and improving skills in grant writing and fundraising.