Congratulations to Dr. Helen Wong Smith on successfully defending her dissertation, “Identifying Awareness and Barriers to Implementation of Cultural Competency in Government Archives through Community-Based Participatory Research,” via Zoom on July 27, 2026. The CIS community celebrates this well-earned achievement!
Title: Identifying Awareness and Barriers to Implementation of Cultural Competency in Government Archives through Community-Based Participatory Research
Abstract: Diversification of the historical record from the predominant Eurocentric paradigm requires appropriate interpretation and service by a multicultural staff or by staff adept at working with cultures and communities unlike their own. This research engages members of a national archival professional organization with the cultural competency framework to strengthen their awareness and agency in diversifying the workforce, improving service to disparate patrons and stakeholders, and expanding the archival record. Cultural competency is the ability, at both individual and organizational levels, to function with awareness, knowledge, and interpersonal skills when engaging people of different backgrounds, beliefs, and values. Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) guided this case study, which drew on interviews with archives leaders and participants who completed an asynchronous course developed in collaboration with the organization’s leadership, as well as the organization’s documents related to a cultural competency initiated in 2021. Government archivists interviewed in this study support the goals of cultural competency, but due to the lack of a shared conceptual model, implementation remains fragmented. The study also identified multiple challenges that community members faced in implementing cultural competency, including limited staff time for professional development and competing organizational priorities. These findings expand understanding of cultural competency beyond external community engagement and contribute insight into contemporary implementation barriers, particularly in the context of shifting political climates, legislative restrictions, and other forms of organizational uncertainty related to DEIA initiatives. This work also contributes to the body of PAR and CBPR approaches to community engagement by demonstrating how cultural competency initiatives can support efforts to diversify the historical record.
Committee Members:
Jenifer Winter (COM), Chair
Hanae Kramer (COM)
Rich Gazan (LIS)
Kaiwipunikauikawēkiu Punihei Lipe
Jane Chung-Do (Public Health), University Representative