Abstract
This article introduces the concept of ‘co-impact’ to characterise the complex and dynamic process of social and economic change generated by participatory action research (PAR). It argues that dominant models of research impact tend to see it as a linear process, based on a donor-recipient model, occurring at the end of a project following the take-up and use of findings. PAR challenges this approach, as impact is embedded in cycles of the action research process; the distinction between researchers, research informants and research users is blurred; and micro process-based impacts, including changes in the thinking and practices of co-researchers, are as significant as findings-based changes in policy and practice. A conceptual framework is developed, based on a three-fold distinction between ‘participatory’, ‘collaborative’ and ‘collective’ impact. This is applied to a case study action research project, Debt on Teesside, working with low-income households in North-east England. The project is analysed in terms of participatory impact (e.g. developing skills of participating households, mentor-researchers, and university staff); collaborative impact (e.g. findings-based changes in thinking, policies and practices of advice, community finance and housing agencies, and local authorities resulting from collaborative research); and ‘collective impact’, adapted from the field of social interventions, which involves organisations collectively targeting specific actions based on research (e.g. changing policy and practices of lenders and government relating to high-cost loans).
Highlights
Action-oriented and participatory research is increasingly popular in academic, policy and practice environments
This article has presented a three-fold model of co-impact, developed and illustrated with reference to a case study action research project
Our aim was not to present an impact evaluation of Debt on Teesside, but rather to show what kinds of individual, organisational and social changes were generated in this particular case, and what conceptual framework might be useful for organising and understanding co-impact
Summary
Action-oriented and participatory research is increasingly popular in academic, policy and practice environments. The features making participatory and action research relatively successful in bringing about social and economic change, mean it is hard to identify and attribute precisely the causes and nature of the change. Unclear, and frequently many parties are involved, using emergent and unpredictable approaches In this type of research, an often diverse range of actors works together in a process sometimes characterised as ‘co-production’ or ‘co-creation’. As an integral part of the research process, impact is co-produced We call this process ‘co-impact’, an umbrella term referring to the generation of change as a result of individuals, groups and organisations working together. We are interested in the process of creating and evidencing social and economic impact through action research operating in a participatory paradigm. We use data collected during the project and afterwards as part of an evaluative process to identify and describe different types of impact and assess whether the three categories are helpful
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