Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer
Imani Duncan, at launch of Taking Responsibility at Emancipation Park last Thursday.

The Editor, Sir:

'Taking Responsibility' is an inclusive, independent research programme that was initiated to ignite the imagination of cutting-edge Jamaican researchers. To date, the project has activated a multi-disciplinary research team of leading scholars, here and abroad, and has mobilised young Jamaicans around the world who are eager to use their learning to advance their country. It is also a home for partnership among the private sector, non-governmental sector, government and the research community to definitively assess the successes and failures of the post-Independence Jamaican model.

Last week, four of the 46 researchers involved in the Taking Responsibility project announced their withdrawal in a letter to the editor, dated December 22, 2006. Their essential claim was that the Taking Responsibility project ignored the various contributions of the culture group and was narrowly economic in perspective.

From the beginning, our stand has always been to further evidence-based dialogue for our country's growth and development - the project sought to look at our successes and failures from the perspective of political economy, crime, leadership, economic performance, foreign policy, culture and institutional capacity.

Data-driven research

In so doing, we required each group to submit data-driven research in a timely and consistent manner over a period of 18 months. For us, data are both qualitative and quantitative - the Jamaican story is a complex one and our only desire is to understand the lessons from our past so that we may chart a way forward.

In May 2006, we had a vibrant interim conference with all research groups, including the Culture Group, sharing and presenting findings to date. It became apparent that the Culture Group had not provided sufficient data-driven research to substantiate their conclusions. Our commitment as the Taking Responsibility group is that all of our findings be grounded in evidence. Upon presentation and evaluation, the members of the Culture Group agreed to design and undertake original research for submission in June 2006.

The executive committee agreed to fund the work given our commitment to a multi-disciplinary understanding of the Jamaican story. [In the spirit of inclusion, all of the presentations from our May 2006 conference have been posted on our website www.takingresponsibilty.org.

Additional researchers

In August 2006, due to the absence of the required evidence-based research from the Culture Group, the executive of the project contracted additional researchers to tackle some of the substantive work. This new body of data currently accounts for 18 per cent of the body of the working paper. Throughout the process, we continued to involve the leader of the Culture Group.

In the spirit of national dialogue, we did not want the findings to remain solely in the halls of the University of the West Indies, but instead sought to actively engage and incite Jamaicans to reconsider what we hold to be true and factual about our history.

As such, in mid-November 2006, we had a meeting of the group leaders to determine the best academically responsible way to release the findings to date. During that meeting, which included the leader of the Culture Group, we agreed to release a draft working paper in January 2007, while still holding to a commitment to get the work done in an iterative and interactive manner.

An invitation was issued to the members of the Culture Group to engage in a public debate around the interpretation of the findings. We are disappointed that they chose to disengage from the process.

Nevertheless, we are still committed to a national dialogue and as originally planned, will be releasing the draft working paper to the public on January 26, 2007, with an interactive public forum to follow on February 27, 2007. The nature of the research attempts to examine the choices made over the four decades since independence and objectively critique the consequences for our nation.

Our only request is that all participants in the exploration of our Jamaican story bring data to the debate. We are no longer satisfied with being told "you were not there" and "everybody knows that." Our past was not inevitable. We believe we can take responsibility for our choices and their consequences and utilise the learning to inform the plans for the future. We strongly welcome all those who would like to participate in an evidence-based discussion to join this process, for we believe this represents the best hope for moving Jamaica on to a path of rapid and sustainable development.

We are, etc.,

IMANI DUNCAN,

Executive Director,

'Taking Responsibility: The Jamaican Economy Since Independence',

Department of Government,

UWI Mona.

KIM-MARIE SPENCE,

Incoming Executive Director,

Taking Responsibility Institute,

Department of Government,

UWI Mona.

takingresponsibility@gmail.com