Action research is a process in which research is conducted together with, rather than on people. This means that research is done in collaboration with stakeholders, rather than, as is common in many other kinds of research, researchers maintaining distance from the activity or area that they want to study.

Action research, as we conduct it in the DöBra program, is:

1) a dynamic and cyclical process that includes problem identification, planning, implementation and evaluation. This includes constant development of the project, continuously building on the lessons we learn during the process of conducting the project.

2) research is conducted in partnership between researchers and stakeholders, that is those involved in or affected in some way by the research.

The purpose of action research is to have a direct and immediate impact on the area of interest, at the same time as we systematically learn more about it.

We work with action research in different ways in our different projects. This is described further on each respective project pages.