ZICUSO BC strongly believes in the phrase “Nothing about Us Without Us”. We therefore prefer participatory methods in research and solution design to issues that affect the communities we serve.   

Although we agree with research observations that blacks in Canada are underserved and have one of the highest rates of poverty in the country, we do not agree with some of the causes of poverty in some publications and certainly do not see the intended impact of policies that have been formulated to address these issues. Minority groups are not monolithic as they are treated in many policy announcements. Black people are diverse and have diverse challenges. We believe that solutions to address the challenges faced by our communities should include our voice for them to be accepted and effective. Data and lived experience need to play important roles in designing solutions to social problems. Hence, our emphasis is on participatory and collaborative research