“The action research methodology helps to activate and develop continuous cycles of reflection-action around a shared problem”
Methodology
Since its inception, Orkestra has been committed to research methodologies that enable transformative research, and has not only applied this type of methodology, but also pioneered one of them: action research for territorial development. In this way, the Institute complements its four transformative research laboratories with a line of methodological research focused on this approach, the results of which are largely aimed at strengthening the work carried out in the Public Policy Lab.
Action-research methodology helps activate and develop ongoing reflection and action cycles around a shared problem between the research team and policymakers. In this way, knowledge is generated between both parties, benefiting both:
- Policymakers can develop strategies/initiatives using different tools to address the identified problem.
- The research team, Orkestra, conceptualises this generated knowledge to contribute to the academic community.
These are cyclical processes in which, after several stages of reflection, decision-making, and action in the territory, both parties meet again to define a new challenge/problem.
In action research methodology, the research team takes on the role of facilitators: people who, whether individually or in a group context, create an environment that enables territorial actors to engage in reflection, decision-making, and action-taking to tackle a specific challenge or problem. They provide frameworks, concepts, and analysis to foster dialogue with the ultimate goal of defining specific actions to be developed in the territory.
Orkestra has been collaborating with its partner organisations on this methodology for years. Some of its partners in this collaborative framework include Garapen and the regional development agencies of the Basque Autonomous Community, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Bilbao City Council, and the Basque Government.
International Community
The proposal for this methodology was made in collaboration with the University of Agder (Norway) and has been further developed in collaboration with Praxis Institute, Technological University of Argentina Rafaela Campus (Santa Fe, Argentina). To a large extent through the completion of doctoral theses and internal training processes, Orkestra has developed a community of practice, called Zubigintza, which aims to continue developing this methodology.
Some of the people from Orkestra and Praxis who are part of the Zubigintza community of practice.
The work carried out in the field of action research for territorial development has been recognised internationally. Orkestra is one of the organisations invited to be part of the Action Research + initiative and plays a central role in the International Journal of Action Research.
The results of developing this methodology have been documented in action research projects, which are extensively covered in numerous publications available through the following tab.
Publications
The community that engages in Action Research for Territorial Development (ARTD) has conceptualised its experience in numerous publications throughout its collaborative journey. Together with the projects carried out, these publications are the foremost exponents of ARTD.
List of publications on the use of action research in territorial development
The following document brings together all existing publications to date, grouped around the main lines of work that have been generated through the use of ARTD, and facilitates access to those with ‘open access’ status:
A milestone in this journey was the creation of a series of books, called Serie Desarrollo Territorial, which has been committed since 2015 to strengthening open access publishing as a more democratic form of knowledge access. Many of the methodological contributions related to action research for territorial development have been published in this collection, notably the book Roots and Wings of Action Research for Territorial Development, which aims to periodically depict the state of the art of this approach.
Roots and Wings of action research for territorial development
This book comprises of ten chapters written by members of the Action Research for Territorial Development (ARDT) community. It aims to share what ARDT is as well as the debates it is addressing.
Training
Another milestone related to this methodology was the experimental construction of a plataform to train territorial development facilitators. This platform follows the principles of transformative communication developed in Orkestra through an internal action research process and is also open access.
The goal with the contents shared in the platform is to help develop facilitation capabilities and, to achieve this, we have made a relevant effort to make your visit as dialogic and interactive possible. In the platform you will find, besides the original contents provided by the authors, the perspectives and contributions of other people that visited the platform previously. If you are a facilitative person, or you think you could be in the future, we invite you to make this journey
