Meeting summary for Creating meaningful change in communities to address climate change, through participatory Action Research. (01/28/2025)
Mary Brydon-Miller, Ph.D. is Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisville in the US and is currently serving as Extra-ordinary Professor at North-West University in South Africa and adjunct faculty at the University of Technology, Sydney.
She is a participatory action researcher who conducts work in school, community, and organizational settings. She is the editor, with David Coghlan, of the SAGE Encyclopedia of Action Research (2014). Her most recent book with Sarah Banks is Ethics in Participatory Research for Health and Social Well-Being: Cases and Commentaries (2019). Her current work focuses on the areas of Climate Change Education and doctoral training in Action Research.
She is part of a transdisciplinary team of community and university-based researchers working on the Flooding in Appalachian Streams and Headwaters (FLASH) initiative, a four-year National Science Foundation funded project designed to bring participatory action research methods together with engineering expertise in hydrology and watershed management to enhance flood monitoring and preparedness and support asset-based development in communities in Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia.
Participant reflection…
“… pretty much everything I do is action research! Which is weird, because I would never have thought of it that way.
“I always think of action research in the tradition of setting up AR groups as per how it was framed in the MSC… but it’s so much more than that.
And it seems to me that I never set out to ‘formally’ do AR – I set out to work with people and organisations as living systems with innate intelligence. Which turns out to be pretty action research-y”. Paula Downey, culturework.ie
Quick recap
Helena and Mary led discussions on community-based participatory research, asset-based community development, and the World Cafe method, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and networking within communities. Various groups shared their insights and challenges, with a focus on issues like collective intelligence, diversity, accessibility, and climate change education. The conversation ended with plans for a future creating workshop and the announcement of the next meeting date.
Next steps
• All participants to save the date for the next meeting on March 4th, 2025 – Future Creating Workshop: Participatory Action Research to address climate change 4th March 16:30-18:30.
• Mary to prepare and lead a mini future-creating workshop using Padlet for the next session.
• Julia to send out the confirmed time for the March 4th meeting closer to the date.
• Mary to share her email address with participants for follow-up questions.
• Organizers to invite additional participants to join the next session on critical utopian action research.
Summary
Participatory Action Research and Change
In the meeting, Helena welcomed everyone to the Association of Sustainability Practitioners and introduced Mary, a professor at the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisville, who would be leading two sessions with the group. Mary discussed her background in community-based participatory research and her involvement in various projects, including a flood response project in Eastern Kentucky and a project with middle schoolers in the city. She emphasized the importance of participatory action research in creating positive change in communities and its potential to address the climate crisis. Mary also discussed the principles of covenantal ethics, the affordances of participatory action research, and the importance of finding new ways to disseminate knowledge. She concluded by addressing concerns about the recognition and future of participatory action research.
Exploring Community Development and Appreciation
Mary discussed her work with the Gloucestershire Gateway Trust, a social enterprise model that generates income for community organizations in South Gloucester. She highlighted the trust’s asset-based community development approach, which focuses on identifying and building on community resources to create positive change. Mary also introduced the concept of appreciative inquiry, which involves looking at the positive aspects of an organization or sector rather than its deficits. She then explained the World Cafe method, a participatory research technique that encourages collaboration and networking within a community. The participants were tasked with discussing what they value about their community or organization, a problem they see in it, and how they might reframe that problem as a potential asset.
Exploring Collective Intelligence and Challenges
In the meeting, various groups discussed their conversations and insights. Room 1 discussed the benefits of collective intelligence, while Room 2 focused on issues in their respective situations and how to develop them further. Room 3 discussed the challenges of diversity and how to integrate it into something larger. Room 4 explored the idea of reframing problems into potential assets. Room 5 discussed the challenges of working with local authorities and the potential for community projects. Room 6 discussed issues with accessibility and ageism in their respective communities. Mary then suggested several books as resources for further learning and action.
Sustainability Projects and Climate Education
Mary discussed her ongoing projects, particularly focusing on sustainability and climate change education. She highlighted the Flash Initiative, a project in Eastern Kentucky aimed at understanding flooding in Appalachian streams and headwaters. Mary also mentioned the Ripple Effects Photo Contest, a participatory research methodology disguised as a contest, and the International Climate Change Education Project, which involved students from various countries studying climate change in their communities. She emphasized the importance of collective efficacy in combating the hopelessness associated with the climate crisis. Mary also shared her experiences with community engagement, including tree planting campaigns, water quality testing, and future creating workshops. She concluded by explaining the concept of participatory action research, which involves collecting data and assessing changes in attitudes and behaviors.
Mindset Shifts and Feasible Utopias
Mary discussed the importance of changing mindsets about what constitutes valid knowledge and how it can be used to improve services or demonstrate impact in communities. She also introduced the concept of feasible utopias and green universities, encouraging the participants to think about their own utopian visions for higher education or potential partnerships between their organizations and the academy. Mary also announced plans for a future creating workshop, a participatory action research methodology, to be held in the next session. Jagdish ended the conversation by thanking the participants and announcing the next meeting date of March 4th.
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