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Systemic Action Research as a Strategy to Face the Institutionalization of Participatory Approaches: a Case Study in the Basque Country

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  • Miren Larrea

    (University of Deusto)

Abstract

Institutionalization is one of the challenges met by action research (AR) processes aiming at structural changes in society, but what institutionalizing AR means and how it occurs is understudied. This paper is based on the experience of a long-term AR process in Gipuzkoa (one of the three provinces in the Basque Country, Spain), in which a regional government, eleven county development agencies, and a team of action researchers have been working together since 2009 to construct a new governance for territorial development. From its start, the Territorial Development Laboratory (TDLab) project has been inspired by AR approaches emphasizing participation. After a signed formal agreement in 2017 institutionalized the spaces and procedures built through AR as the new governance, tensions started to emerge, which suggests that the project’s participatory approach must also evolve and adapt to the institutionalization stage. To do so, systemic action research (SAR) provides a good framework to revisit the case and complement participatory features with systemic ones. Based on the discussion of the case from the SAR perspective, the paper proposes some systemic features that can help adapt participatory AR projects into structural features of governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Miren Larrea, 2019. "Systemic Action Research as a Strategy to Face the Institutionalization of Participatory Approaches: a Case Study in the Basque Country," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 32(6), pages 645-662, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:syspar:v:32:y:2019:i:6:d:10.1007_s11213-019-09482-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11213-019-09482-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ainhoa Arrona, 2017. "Can interpretive policy analysis contribute to a critical scholarship on regional innovation policy studies?," Working Papers 2017R01, Orkestra - Basque Institute of Competitiveness.
    2. Luke Houghton & Heather Stewart, 2017. "Using the ‘Engagement’ Model of Problem Solving to Assist Students in Capstone Learning," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 30(5), pages 471-485, October.
    3. Derick Brinkerhoff, 2010. "Danny Burns, Systemic Action Research: A Strategy for Whole System Change," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 93-95, March.
    4. Miren Estensoro & Miren Larrea, 2016. "Overcoming policy making problems in smart specialization strategies: engaging subregional governments," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(7), pages 1319-1335, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. J. Vicente Tébar-Rubio & F. Javier Ramírez & M. José Ruiz-Ortega, 2023. "Conducting Action Research to Improve Operational Efficiency in Manufacturing: The Case of a First-Tier Automotive Supplier," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 427-459, June.

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