Global Action Research Center

The Global ARC is helping communities use science and technology to address their concerns. The Global ARC creates demonstration models that display how science and technology, contributed by universities, can be brought to bear to address neighborhood challenges identified and defined by residents experiencing those challenges. These models become... living laboratories for building healthy communities. In order to build these models, all residents must have an active voice in the decision making that impacts their lives. Therefore the Global ARC assists various segments of the community, whose voices are not included in decision making processes, to become organized and actively engaged. Participatory Action Research (PAR): A powerful tool for articulating an issue and building/strengthening leadership. In some cases, we work with the staff of the organization to train them on how to conduct a PAR and consult with them as they take their members through the process. In other cases we work directly with members of the organization to conduct the PAR. Participatory Narrative Development: Developing a narrative involves working with the staff and leadership of an organization to reflect on and tell the story of a campaign, a victory, etc. This narrative also becomes the basis for extracting lessons learned from the experience so they can inform future campaigns. Participatory Community Assessment: We do not do "Needs Assessments. Our approach is to work with constituents to develop a process for assessing what their community needs, wants and is willing to contribute and then working with them to begin to use that assessment to guide any actions they may take in the future. Program Evaluation/Appreciative Inquiry: Our approach to evaluation is significantly different from the traditional approach. We work with organizations to integrate assessment-monitoring into their work in a way that is minimally intrusive, supports the group by reporting on its progress, and extracts lessons that are fed back into the group ...Read More