Action-research at Parole d’excluEs
Action research has a fundamental role at Parole d’excluEs in accompanying and supporting the mobilization process. It is an integral part of Parole d’excluEs’ way of working and is done in a spirit of co-construction of knowledge and cross-fertilization between community members, various stakeholders and researchers. Research and research actions respond to issues that emerge from action in the field and within the organization.
Action research at Parole d’excluEs, is coordinated by a community-based researcher (a position created in 2013 to strengthen the research dimension in the field and within the organization). It is made possible by a close collaboration with the Parole d’excluEs University Incubator.
In the Parole d’excluEs model of action, the research contributes to:
- Identify the perception and experience of the community in an area, understand their aspirations, and build mobilization within a neighborhood;
- Deepen knowledge of specific issues related to field actions through documentation and critical reflection;
- Present interesting and inspiring models from elsewhere, to inspire projects and enrich methods;
- To document the projects in progress and contribute to the reflexivity of the participants in order to reorient them, if necessary;
- To contribute to the development and systematization of the practices of Parole d’excluEs through analysis and research;
- Promote the cross-fertilization of knowledge and co-construction between citizens, stakeholders and researchers in order to arrive at more complete knowledge and more solid projects;
To bring additional credibility to the Parole d’excluEs process and to bring this practice to the academic world;
To reflect on and accompany the transfer of Parole d’excluEs’ projects, models and practices.
Members of the action-research team also participate in numerous steering committees for research projects conducted either in the academic community or by community partners. Within these steering committees, the role of PE researchers is to work on the constant link between research and the specific scientific requirements in the field, on the one hand, while taking into account the constraints and the importance of spin-offs for action and social transformation, on the other.
Some ongoing projects, led by the action-research team at Parole d’excluEs
The Blog of the University Incubator of Parole d’excluEs (IUPE)
Action-research at Parole d’excluEs aims above all to mobilize knowledge to fuel (and sometimes even trigger) action. However, the research conducted also generates knowledge. The action-research team runs a blog whose purpose is to present and disseminate this knowledge, often in layman’s terms, to the general public as well as to the academic, community and institutional sectors.
Some current projects
Study on barriers to social and economic inclusion, as part of the Plan de développement social de Montréal-Nord. In collaboration with the TQMN, Hoodstock, the CDEC, the CJE, and Impulsion-Travail (Grégoire Autin, Parole d’excluEs; Sonia Tello-Rozas, UQAM; Marlei Pozzebon, HEC) with the Table de quartier de Montréal-Nord, the CDEC de Montréal-Nord and Hoodstock (other partners to come);
Study on the needs and aspirations of the citizens of Montreal-Nord regarding access to food (coming soon);
Perspectives from Quebec, Peru and Brazil on the approach to social inclusion technologies (Sonia Tello-Rozas, UQAM; Marlei Pozzebon, HEC; Isabel Heck, UQAM) with Parole d’excluEs, D1 (Peru), Alto (Peru), Polos de Cidadania (Brazil) and Adel (Brazil)
All the projects, studies and publications carried out by the IUPE are available on the IUPE blog.