Community-led action research is a useful tool to support community empowerment and community voice. It is an approach which can help put power in the hands of communities and is something that is within reach of many. 

However, it’s important to think carefully before undertaking a community-led action research project. It can be tempting to ‘get wired in’ straight away but we think it’s well worth spending some time with your community organisation to make sure it’s the right approach for you. 

In this section we suggest how you might go about laying the groundwork of a community-led action research project. 

Workshop and materials content 

• Is community-led action research for you?

• Taking action in your community

• Where are we on the action research cycle? [link not ready]

• Your research question [link not ready]

• Stakeholder analysis

Planning community-led action research: Is community-led action research for you? 

Exercise: With your group, ask yourselves the following questions 

To what extent to we have? 

• A community organisation to lead the process

• A staff member, local officer, or committed volunteer to play a key leading and organising role

• A group of committed community members, volunteers, activists 

• An issue that you feel needs addressed, changed, tackled, moved 

• A willingness and energy to ‘get out there’ and engage with your wider community (be that of place, identity or interest) by carrying out research and those who can help make changes e.g. representatives of public bodies (such as councils), councillors, other community organisations, and funders

• A commitment to engage 

Thinking about taking action in your community 

Exercise: With your group, ask yourselves this question 

•  How do you define your community – is it a community of place, interest or identity?

 Exercise: Identifying our issue – we need to understand the issue, problem, challenge, opportunity we want to address. Try to look at the thing you want to take action on from all angles.

•  Name your issue, problem, challenge, opportunity you want to address.

• Who and what is affected by this issue? 

• How long has it been going on for?

• Is it a process? For example how a group of stakeholders works together? 

• What ideas do we have for taking action? 

• What role will the ‘new knowledge’ [explainer] play in making any change happen? 

Exercise: stakeholder analysis 

• Part 1: identify those who might have an interest in your project. This might include: specific communities; community organisations; public bodies; funders; charities etc. Importantly, think about who it is you want your action research wants to speak to, influence, inspire, or change the mind of. These are some of your most important stakeholders.  

• Using a power/influence tool (such as this one) identify where they fit in with your project

• Once you have plotted them decide how you will engage them in your project, and what their contribution might be. Highlight those who are especially important to making change happen and who we are aiming to create evidence to influence.

Writing our research question 

Check previous exercise

Analysing your capacity 

Exercise needed