Impact of leading a participatory action research teaching session at NCRM

This NCRM impact case study was written by Dr Kim Ozano, of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, University of Liverpool.

Summary

My experience of co-leading and delivering the participatory action research (PAR) session for NCRM, on 3 and 4 July 2021, has been beneficial from three perspectives, personal development and capacity building, career and institutional. It was also great to hear that the session sold out and had an extensive waiting list. A subsequent session, which will be delivered in spring 2022 has also sold out very quickly, demonstrating the demand for more knowledge about participatory action research paradigms.

Personal development and capacity building

In 2021, I co-led the PAR sessions with Louise Hardwick, who took the main lead role in the process. These co-led sessions helped me to build confidence in teaching and leadership. I have now taken over leadership of delivery of the PAR sessions and will deliver a new revised session in Spring 2022.

Co-leading the session with Louise Hardwick from University of Liverpool challenged me to structure a training format for students with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. Attendees included researchers working in NGOs, PhD students and funders who wanted to understand the principles of PAR so they could assess grant applications using this method. Louise and brought our skills together - Louise taught about theories and concepts of PAR and I backed this up with my experience of applying PAR within international cross country contexts including Nigeria, Liberia, Bangladesh and others.

As part of sharing real life examples of research projects, I invited early career researchers to share aspects of their work with the students. They were then engaged in discussions and could offer practical solutions to students on the course who were starting new PAR projects. This opportunity stimulated me to think through and apply online innovative participatory techniques to share learning in an interactive and engaging way.

The 2021 teaching session was delivered during restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and as such, exploring and applying new ways of online working with participants was essential to keep research active. I was able to share with participants live examples of how research was being adapted to remote methods in different countries and to hear from others how they were considering adaptations. This was impactful for my own work and for the work of others in the session, one of which was a funding body representative who wanted to understand the method more and how it was being adapted so he could apply that knowledge to new applications.

Through designing the session, I was also able to connect with other speakers and attendees, leading to new collaborations and discussions. For example, I heard from several participants after the session who linked with me via twitter and email where we were able to discuss shared work interests and potential joint funding activities. Below is one example:

"I really enjoyed your recent NCRM class on PAR... many thanks again for the great sessions. I just wondered if you might have time for an informal chat about your work, some ideas I’ve been exploring, and possible opportunities to collaborate."

Furthermore, the PAR session offered an opportunity for others to share useful papers, networks, websites that were relevant to the topic area. This allowed me to update my own knowledge and teaching in the field. I will now share this learning, the links and knowledge during the session I am about to deliver this year. Having a diverse and current range of interdisciplinary knowledge about participatory action research is essential to ensure that my teaching is dynamic and contemporary, especially in this fast-changing climate of online education.

Career development impact

As a mid-career researcher, raising my profile on twitter and other social media as a lead in my field is an important goal. As the session was advertised widely on twitter, this really promoted my expertise outside of my own institution and network circles. This led to additional followers who were interested in the work I was engaged in and new opportunities to share research. Having led the sessions was also important when applying for promotions and funding grants and gaining additional teaching opportunities. I now lead PAR teaching sessions across a number of institutions as a result and have secured funding for PAR as a recognised expert in the field.

Institutional impact

The session I delivered provided an opportunity to showcase some of the work we do at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, as case studies and examples, so students could gain real time access to studies that use these methods. Much of the research was not published, however was complete and sharing the examples helped to show students that these complex approaches were very doable in many different contexts even before publication. The case studies we drew on ranged from across the UK but also in many global south contexts with different political systems which had an impact on participation. Students learned from diverse speakers and conversations as a result of the space created within the teaching session. This added value as a learning product.

Furthermore, early career researchers were provided with opportunities to teach within the session, adding to their CVs, whilst benefitting participants. Specifically, many attended the session who were working on their PhDs and enjoyed learning from a fellow PhD student. Through the connections I made while teaching for the NCRM I was also able to promote PhD funding opportunities and to support other early career researchers to advance their proposals using participatory methods. Having the space to share my passion for participatory research benefitted both me, as a researcher, and the participants.