150 Case Studies, 400 Publications... Now What?
Citizenship DRC research assistant Greg Barrett weighs the task ahead.
A few days into joining the Citizenship DRC as a research assistant, I was shown a file documenting the breadth of the team’s research – eight years, 150 case studies (and counting) and more than 400 publications! Now what?
The last 18 months of the Citizenship DRC will see a new focus on synthesising and communicating the research in ways that promote action-oriented networks and progressive social change. I will try to assist this process, but it is no easy feat.
In addition to providing research support for the Citizenship DRC final phase projects, my work over the next year will focus on the implementation of a system of electronically managing and sharing DRC research materials with interested users – perhaps you.
This is an important feature of the project’s final phase because it furthers our commitment to the principles underlying the Citizenship DRC’s work by:
- Enabling us to maximise our collective knowledge from eight years of hard work;
- Deepening the partnerships developed through our research network;
- Aiming to support marginalised groups to define and claim their rights by sharing cases and user-friendly research findings to those outside the research network.
More details about my work plan and an overall strategy for the Citizenship DRC’s knowledge management will be available in the coming months. In the meantime, I invite researchers and practitioners to contact me with any suggestions, concerns or ideas for how to make our unique collection of knowledge available for all.
Related Resources
Constructing Transnational Action Research Networks: Observations and Reflections from the Case of the Citizenship DRC
L. David Brown and John Gaventa (2008) IDS Working Paper 302