Community-led action research: What we're learning - and what's next.
/In this blog, SCDC’s Communications Manager Sam Jordan shares some reflections on a recent community-led action research roundtable, and what’s next for this powerful approach to empowering communities knowledge.
Last month we brought together those working around community-led action research to share learning and ideas about how this approach can be used by communities to set their priorities and carry out the actions they want to see.
The conversations we had showed a real enthusiasm for carrying out community-led research, and pointed to the role it could play in us re-imagining how research is viewed in policymaking in Scotland.
Why it’s powerful
A key point was how community-led action research comes from community priorities that already exist. There are no fixed outcomes, so what’s important to people in the community informs the findings – helping to reveal the underlying reasons that can get to the core of an issue.
We also heard about the value the broader community perspective can bring to services. Often, in the context of fragmented, siloed services, community perspectives can point to wider trends, or help connect the dots in ways that don’t seem otherwise obvious.
There’s also the value of the process itself, with communities and practitioners co-producing creative methods which change the power dynamics in research.
The impact it can have
The impact of the research process, and the results themselves, is key. We heard about how the ‘community-led’ aspect of the research adds weight and authority to findings, because it’s rooted in genuine community experiences. For the groups carrying out the research, it can also “lead to doors opening”, helping them to influence services and respond to community ideas.
Crucially, it was recognised that the ‘action’ aspect can have long-lasting effects, reflecting the community development foundations that community-led action research is centred around/
Challenges
There were also some helpful challenges as part of the discussion.
We need to ensure that community-led action research is robust, and can stand up to the scrutiny that research invites. On top of this, we need sound evidence of the effectiveness and impact of community-led action research as an approach. It was also reflected that it needs to be delivered in a joined-up way without being too ‘bitty’, something that wider adoption and resourcing could help achieve.
How we value the time and work of researchers was also mentioned. This way of working can be intensive, and questions about remuneration of volunteers is key– even as that brings further challenges about how we resource these approaches.
What’s next
In our proposition paper, we set out how we think community-led action research should be endorsed and supported by a wide range of stakeholders, with discrete resources deployed, and that good practice should be brought together to inform our collective learning.
To achieve this, we’re aiming to bring those interested together to set out the actions they can take to help us progress towards these goals. Sign up to the SCDC Weekly to hear the latest.
We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who joined our discussion, and we’re looking forward to seeing what comes next.
What you need to know this week.