Participatory Action Research (PAR): Participatory Theatre and Walking Methods' Potential for Co-producing knowledge

This project on research methods addresses the UK social science community's need to gain a better understanding of how participatory action research approaches engage marginalised groups in research as co-producers of knowledge. It combines walking methods and participatory theatre to create a space for exploring, sharing and documenting processes of belonging and place making that are crucial to understanding and enacting citizenship. Participatory Action Research, based on the principles of inclusion, valuing all voices and action-oriented interventions allows for engaging marginalized groups into research as a citizenship practice. By doing so the project meets the aims of NCRM's methodological initiative and the interest shown by social science researchers to address the methodological problems associated with researching hard to reach communities. It also responds to the ESRC's thematic priorities 'Influencing Behaviour' and 'A Vibrant and Fair Society'.
The project is original by creating a model for bringing together practitioners and marginalized groups to engage with each other through creative methods and innovates by developing a toolkit for training social researchers in walking stories and theatre. The project develops methods and methodological knowledge of participatory theatre and walking methods through three well integrated strands of (i) participatory methods with migrant parents' and young people on intergenerational communication (ii) co-production through participatory methods with families with no recourse to public funds in conversation with policy-practice; and, (iii) building upon this, developing training tools for social science researchers using participatory theatre and walking methods with marginalised communities. This participatory arts based research will be undertaken in collaboration and consultation with a theatre practitioner, Counterpoints Arts and the Runnymede Trust. Three core strands combine to achieve these aims:
Strand 1: Generating Research Data - explores the potential of participatory methods for generating new methodological datasets and insights into migrant families' intergenerational relations. It combines 3 walking story sessions, to produce visual data which will initiate the theatre scenes in the following 8 participatory theatre sessions with two groups: migrant parents and young people. A day-long Learning Lab in collaboration with Counterpoints Arts helps to produce digital resources on the value of these methods for research with marginalized groups.
Strand 2: Co-production Engagement with Policy-Practice - focuses on potential and pitfalls of the participatory theatre and walking stories methods for engaging policy-practice and marginalized participants in the co-production of knowledge around the specific policy issue of NRPF, a policy restricting migrants' participation in society. Families affected by NRPF will participate in the walking stories and participatory theatre, particularly the technique of 'legislative theatre'. In collaboration with Runnymede Trust we will produce a multimedia briefing pack on the value of these methods to policy-practice.
Strand 3: Training for Researchers in Walking Stories and Participatory Theatre - The resources and materials developed in strand 1 and 2 will be used to develop a toolkit and courses for training social science researchers, benefitting the wider social science research community. Training and capacity building is integral to the project. The outputs will leave a legacy beyond the duration of the project. In addition, to delivering training through the project strands above, the team will contribute training workshops/sessions through NCRM's programme of events and the Research Methods Festival, the project website will give access to multimedia training and briefing materials for social researchers and practitioners and policy makers working with marginalized groups.

The project addresses NCRM's remit of enhancing the UK social science community's methods' capacity and responds to the ESRC priorities of Influencing behaviour and informing interventions and A vibrant and fair society. The project will have a lasting legacy on the social science community interested in using participatory methods to engage with hard to reach communities because we will produce a model and research tools, which can be replicated by others. Building on our extensive impact generation (eg. Erel's Chairing of Milton Keynes Council's Ethnic Diversity Commission; O'Neill's co-chairing of the Racial Equality Forum and Race, Crime and Justice regional network in the North East, Reynolds with Age UK and Lewisham Council) and delivering training (e.g. Erel: postgrad methods workshops at OU, International Women's University, Bergen Uni PhD schools, training to Syrian and Lebanese NGOs on participatory methods; O'Neill: Methods training at Durham Uni; Social Research Association; Lodz University; Justus-Liebig-University Giessen; Reynolds: postgrad training at Southbank University).

i) Promote and popularise participatory theatre and walking methods as integral research methods within the UK social science research community
The research will have impact through training and capacity building, developing and delivering bespoke training courses in participatory theatre and walking methods to social science researchers. Our multimedia toolkit for researchers for participatory theatre and walking methods will be disseminated through the free online learning portal 'Open Learn', our project website, Counterpoints Arts and NCRM to a range of researchers. To encourage take up from professionals in social care, education, health we collaborate with Counter Point Arts, whose expertise in participatory practice and digital representation enables us to reach a wide range of audiences (see e.g. http://goo.gl/BfSBEY; http://goo.gl/6abHIA). The PI is Director of the Research Programme 'Migration and Belonging' at the Centre for Citizenship, Identities and Governance, OU with a vibrant Methods culture including international dialogues on creative, visual and participatory methods (http://www.open.ac.uk/ccig/research/methods-in-motion). Networks in the BSA (family studies, race and ethnicities, visual methods groups), the International Sociological Association RC05; ESA RN 3 (chaired by O'Neill) and our advisory board of methods experts, will help disseminate research outputs.

ii) Demonstrate the value of participatory methods as integral methodological and epistemological approaches in co-producing knowledge to address specific policy issues
The project addresses policy-makers to show that participatory methods are effective in engaging with hard to reach groups. A key area of impact will be challenging epistemological 'habits' to make it more 'thinkable' that knowledge co-produced by marginalised communities can be widely exploited by policy. In collaboration with Runnymede Trust, a leading UK policy agency in race equality, we will produce a digital resource and toolkit and a briefing report for highlighting the value of participatory methods for policy intervention. Runnymede dissemination networks include key policy-makers (eg Home Office, Ministry of Justice) think-tanks (e.g. EHRC, TUC).

iii) Data generation and new knowledge on migrant families and communities
The research on the substantive issue of migrant families' citizenship has the potential to develop significant impacts in policies on integration and citizenship by promoting participatory methods of walking methods and participatory theatre. This contributes to academic research, art-based practice and social policy by encouraging the connection between culture, citizenship and creative performance; importantly co-produced knowledge about policy issues experienced by migrant families such as NRPF will feed into policy debates and practic