Resources

This book describes a grassroots approach to empowering people for democratic social change. It explains participatory research using exemplarly case studies on community organizing, femist theory and ecological movements from a range of locations in North America. It challenges the relevance and validity of academic social science research.

Guide to participatory research that provides information regarding strategies, methods and resources used by practicing participatory researchers to mobilise communities around gathering and producing popular knowledge. The report begins with a presentation of case studies from around the USA of various participatory research projects.
Following this are do's, don'ts and maybe's regarding amongst other issues, power relations, building community and group alliances and diversity, getting information out, starting and sustaining groups and dealing with conflict and funding.

This article describes participatory action research carried out by Roofless Women's Action Research Mobilization (R-WARM), in investigating homelessness amongst women in Boston, Massachusetts. Researchers themselves had formerly experienced homelessness, and dialogue - rather than standard interviews - was used to discover the shared nature of problems and common grounds for action.

This book focuses on the use of participatory research in poverty reduction policies and presents a series of participants reflections on recent and on going processes. Contributions from researchers and practitioners in the field of poverty reduction examine how participatory research has affected the way poverty is understood and how these understandings have been acted on in policy making for poverty reduction. The critical reflections of the authors feature various aspects of the relationship between participation and policy, spanning different levels from the individual researcher to the global institution. They highlight lessons to be learned from current practice and challenges for the future, including the balancing of knowledge, action and consciousness in participatory research processes which can influence the development of policy that reflects and responds to the needs and priorities of poor people.

This paper describes a 15-year battle by a poor rural community to stop industrial pollution of their water supply, and reveals the multiple strategies used by the people of Yellow Creek to hold powerful government and corporate interests accountable. Key elements of success included the uses of participatory research (including scientific research), freedom of information provisions, and the legal system, as well as strategic alliances and genuine partnerships with supportive and respectful NGOs.