Participatory Action Research (PAR)

PAR has been described as a three-pronged activity involving investigation, education, and action. Research is conceived of as a developmental process in which, through the involvement of less-powerful stakeholders in investigation, reflection, negotiation, decision making, and knowledge creation, individual participants and power dynamics in the sociocultural milieu are changed. Evaluators using PAR discover that it is more than performing particular types of activities; it becomes part of who they are, because working in this way involves a commitment to a set of values and principles beyond the simple act of collecting and understanding information. PAR is far more than a methodology; it involves a focus on process and a commitment to action. Participatory evaluation (PE) has emerged at least partly from PAR.

PAR emerged in the ...