Introduction

This manual is designed to assist human service practitioners and agencies, and the communities they work with, to enhance their skills in undertaking Participatory Action Research, and, in so doing improve the situations of people who are vulnerable. It utilises insights derived from a number of Australian Government funded programs, most notably Reconnect, NAYSS (the newly Arrived Youth Support Service known as Reconnect–Newly Arrived Youth Specialists from 1/7/09), and Household Organisational Management Expenses (HOME) Advice. The experience of these early intervention programs demonstrates the benefits of using PAR to achieve improvements in human services.

The 2008 Australian Government White Paper on homelessness, The Road Home, signals that Action Research is a legitimate source of insight for evidence based policy and program design (Australian Government 2008, p.20). We have long known that those most affected by, and closest to, experiences such as homelessness, have an important role to play in the development of relevant and responsive services. To better respond there is also a need to develop services and policies that are more ‘joined up’ and which respond more holistically to the complexity of need people may experience. Participatory Action Research (PAR) provides a process which can assist in achieving these goals.

Participatory Action Research has its origins in attempts to develop new forms of inquiry that could assist service and institutional development in times of substantial social change, diversity and complexity (Wadsworth 2005). Various fields of human services have utilised Participatory Action Research in recent years including health services such as nursing and health promotion, education, community crime prevention, disability services, family support services and homelessness services, just to mention a few.

Reconnect, an early intervention into youth homelessness program funded by the Australian Government, was the first social program in Australia to make the undertaking of Participatory Action Research a requirement for services accepting funding. Two whole of program evaluations (ARTD 1998, RPR 2003) found PAR to be a key ingredient of effective early intervention into youth homelessness.

The evidence drawn on to write this manual includes thirteen years of documented Participatory Action Research undertaken within the Reconnect program and its predecessor the Youth Homelessness Pilot Program. Reconnect services across Australia, of which there are currently 107, write annual reports summarising their Action Research processes including case studies. These are then analysed in order to generate observations and reflections across services regarding how they are undertaking their Action Research. This meta-analysis has been undertaken by external consultants annually since 2001 (Parker, Porter Orchard, ARTD), and allows the Action Research Committee to reflect on and support PAR across the program.

This manual also builds on previous Action Research resources, including Working From Your Strengths ... The Action Research Resource Kit (Quixley 1997), the Reconnect Action Research Kit (Crane and Richardson 2000), and the Action Research Induction Kit - A Guide for Reconnect and NAYSS Workers (Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs 2008), and is designed for workers and agencies who want more detail and complexity than covered in the Induction Kit. Indeed, the two can be used in a complementary way.

Since 1999 the development of Participatory Action Research in Reconnect has been facilitated by an Action Research Committee, comprised of Reconnect service providers, an academic with expertise in Action Research, and officers from the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (and its predecessors).

This manual outlines how PAR can be implemented as a tool to improve the situations of the young people, families and communities we seek to assist. It provides practical examples, tools and links to complementary resources. Be warned there is no recipe book for PAR … no step 1, step 2 and so on. Rather, this manual outlines processes, considerations, questions, ideas, options and suggestions. There are also case examples from practice, hypothetical examples and links to further reading. We hope you find this useful.

Using this manual

We have tried to make this manual easy to read and use. It is primarily intended for use by workers and those they engage with in their practice. This includes, but is not limited to, you, your co-workers, managers, committees or boards, other agencies, and importantly your clients – the individuals, groups and communities that are the target of your service delivery activity.

A resource such as this often sits on a shelf above your desk or in a pile on the floor. It gets dug out when you are looking for ideas on how to get started, need a tool for reflection or want to locate an example that you remember was relevant.

The manual is divided into six sections:

Section 1(Opens in a new tab/window): About Participatory Action Research outlines the characteristics of PAR and its potential benefits.

Section 2(Opens in a new tab/window): A Walk Through the Research Process examines in detail various aspects of the PAR process from ‘woe to go’.

Section 3(Opens in a new tab/window): Key Considerations in Doing PAR provides guidance for embedding PAR into everyday practice, being ethical, and developing trustworthy insights.

Section 4(Opens in a new tab/window): Practical Strategies and Tools contains practical tools for analysing your context, commencing a PAR process, ‘finding out’, analysing and recording.

Section 5(Opens in a new tab/window): Case Examples provides a range of real and hypothetical case examples that assist in making the links between PAR ideas and practice.

Section 6(Opens in a new tab/window): Action Research Resources contains a range of references and resources relevant to PAR.

Throughout this manual the term ‘Participatory Action Research’ is simplified to PAR, and the term ‘Action Research’ to AR.

One challenge in a resource such as this is to balance clarity and brevity with complexity and comprehensiveness. There is no simple solution to this. We have tried to not be repetitious, however there are recurring themes that are re-visited as different aspects of PAR are explained.

The inevitable but important disclaimer:

Remember this manual does not provide comprehensive advice on everything (or even anything!) to do with PAR. Nor does it describe all the possible strategies you should consider or employ in a particular situation. Before using any particular strategy mentioned here you should pause and reflect, consider your own context and the ethical and practical dimensions of your work. Discuss these with the appropriate people: your colleagues, others you are doing your Action Research with, your manager/supervisor; and apply established principles for good practice.