The Beginning is never the beginning: Co-producing action research space

Abstract

Most action research processes aim to improve living conditions, assist in the development of more effective policies or create spaces for mobilization. The outputs of such research tend to be well documented, but less attention has been given to how spaces for action research are formed. This article uses a narrative autobiographical approach to analyse the initial phase of a collaborative action research process with informal settlement groups and their support organizations in Malawi. It discusses how the research topic emerged, the process of identifying entry points, and how negotiations among participants, partners, researchers and institutions at different levels co-produced the action research space. The article concludes that interrogating the multiple beginnings of an action research project can make visible situated knowledges and power relations that influence a research process. A challenge is how to make this interrogation a collaborative exercise that captures the multiple positionalities and perspectives of partners and participants.