participatory action research (par)
“participatory research challenge[s] the myth of distancing knowledge producers from knowledge users, of separating the two worlds of ‘knowledge as pursuit of truth’ and ‘knowledge as pursuit of well-being’.”
- Dr. Rajesh Tandon
Participatory research connects communities with meaningful solutions to problems they face in their daily lives, by enabling local stakeholders to directly influence research agendas, metrics of success, and the outcomes of inquiry.
There is a rich history of PAR on the Indian subcontinent, where communities have driven inquiries into such topics as crop improvement, disaster preparedness, human rights, gender equality, and others. My research aims to calibrate methods from the PAR practitioner’s handbook for directed investigation of food safety threats that compromise health, nutrition, and stability of rural households.
Exposure to mycotoxins, or toxins produced by fungus (myco), in the diet can lead to myriad health, nutrition, and socioeconomic deficits - but rural communities are often devastatingly ill-equipped to diagnose and correct contamination phenomena. By leveraging local contextual expertise in tandem with evidence-driven research principles, my work has articulated the utility of participatory research to match heterogenous local interests with equally diverse and nuanced intervention opportunities.
the PAR process
(i) identify needs
Participatory diagnostic processes elucidate local needs based on the unique histories, bio-physico-ecological circumstances, and belief systems of a given community. Through a blend of interactive assessment and practical surveillance, community members learn to define and contextualize the constraints and opportunities that best suit the group’s problem-solving priorities.
(ii) test solutions
Communities, guided by professional researchers, identify and test plausible intervention options for their issues of interest. Investigations are conducted at scales that are attainable, using metrics of success that are sincerely meaningful to participants. A key distinction from the conventional experimental trial is that participatory research re-couples knowledge creation and knowledge use.
(iii) appraise success
Learnings from participatory research are boundless, and desired outcomes can take different forms for different participants//communities. At the conclusion of each research cycle, communities reflect on successes and shortcomings to determine how (or whether) to innovate on or expand adoption of the trialed techniques.