Mission & Values

“The mission of theAppalachian Land Study is to provide accurate data about land and mineral ownership and public revenues to communities, scholars, local governments, and other stakeholders.”

Value 1

We seek to shape policy and serve Appalachian communities as we build healthy and prosperous communities, and care for water, forests, air, land, and culture.

Value 2

We value local knowledge and believe that people are the experts of their own lives. We strive to connect place - based, local knowledge with specialized training. We look to facilitate the development of leadership and new skills by community members.

Value 3

Our research teams work in a collaborative and democratic manner, from the beginning to the end of the research process, with balanced representation from diverse sectors.

Value 4

Research questions include questions developed through a participatory design process in which collaborative multi stakeholder teams solicit input from communities who are directly affected by issues studied and from other affected stakeholders.

Value 5

We collect and analyze data using methods that follow the highest scholarly standards for accuracy and rigor, and findings will be subjected to rigorous scholarly peer review.

Value 6

The research project will strive to process data quickly so that results are returned to communities and the public for discussion, popular education, and data tools.

Value 7

Research participants will be paid for their work, especially community members or others whose jobs do not include these research activities as work covered by their wages.

Value 8

This research serves the public good and seeks social justice. We do not accept funding from sources that could trigger or constitute a conflict of interest.

Value 9

We are self - critical and welcome constructive criticism from others. We will continually reassess whether the project serves the public interest and the common good.

Value 10

We recognize the historical and present forces of oppression on the lives of individuals based on their abilities, class, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other life experiences.