The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee advances human rights through grassroots collaborations.

Research

Using community-based participatory research to produce publications that support grassroots partners in achieving tangible action towards justice and dismantling systems of oppression.

C&R case studies project interview photo

Our Approach – UUSC’s Participatory Action Research (PAR) Program

Our Process

Research Reports

Our Approach

UUSC’s research program is centered around a nonextractive research approach called “participatory action research” (PAR) and more specifically community-based participatory research (CBPR). This approach to research acknowledges that formal institutional research has been complicit in (indeed crucial to) the development of white supremacy and colonialism. Disrupting the power relationship between formal “researcher” and those being “studied” dismantles systems of oppression and affirms the dignity and expertise of all people. In short, participatory action research is research that holds to the adage: nothing about us without us.

Research for Action

The Action in PAR means, essentially, that the research is meant to be used for something, not just to contribute to the advancement of knowledge. Action will often look like:

Media engagement
Policy or legislative advocacy
Legal advocacy
Campaign building
Strategic planning
Offering new frameworks and practices

In a shift from less collaborative research modes, it is important to remember that the data, outputs, and the actions described above are in collaboration with partners and that “ownership” is collective. To the extent that that individual ownership must be defined, is often most appropriately held by community partners.

Our Process

Because PAR requires relationship-building, which takes time and produces meaningful collaborations, it is especially important that the research relationship be viewed

FIRST as a relationship, SECOND as a process, THIRD as specific products

We have found that by focusing on relationships and process, we not only build stronger research collaborations, but we increase and diversify the opportunities for tangible outputs that are targeted to partners’ needs.