In this couple of videologues we introduce the new special issue of\u00a0 ARJ on International Development, Aid and Social Transformation. Guest Editors Kent Glenzer and Alfredo Ortiz did all the hard work of pulling it together and in addition to five lead papers, they also pull in practitioners\u2019 responses on each of the articles.<\/p>\n
I started into this topic\u00a0(ofInternational Development, Aid and Social Transformation) as someone who is an outsider to the world of International Development and therefore wondering \u201chow does action research actually make a useful difference for the international development community?” To be pragmatic, what can\u00a0an action researcher usefully say to a donor of Development Aid funds who is typically more used to an expert model of change (called “log frame\u201d\/logical framework approach) in advance\u00a0 of any field work. This means typically engagement with stakeholders happens after<\/em>\u00a0goals are specified, making stakeholder engagement an afterthought.<\/p>\n This way of doing things is, to an action researcher\u2019s mind, close to backwards. If stakeholders are not deeply involved, the chances of reaching (pushing!) the goals you have is limited.\u00a0 We\u2019d think, this is an expensive set up for failure down the road. Precisely because action research is about engaging stakeholders in the design of the work and the doing of the work, the AR approach might work better?! But action research also tends to be a slower process, more emergent. Harder to trust\u2026<\/p>\n I asked Kent – whom you see on the first video clip explaining why he is so passionate about the contribution of action research to International Development – to clarify the value of action research.<\/p>\n