Blurred Boundaries in Participatory Action Research
| DOI | 10.1177/1035719X1201200205 |
| Date | 01 September 2012 |
| Author | Heather Gifford,Amohia Boulton |
| Published date | 01 September 2012 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
40 Evaluation Journal of Australasia, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2012
Blurred boundaries in participatory
action research
When a critical friend becomes too critical to project implementation
and sustainability
This article discusses the subtle distinction between the role of a critical
friend in participatory action research (PAR) evaluation and that of
intervention project management, along with tensions that arise when
the roles become blurred. These tensions are particularly evident when
the imperatives for contributing to Māori development and local-level
capacity-building impact on PAR evaluation best practice. The article
draws on the experiences of evaluators at Whakauae Research for Māori
Health and Development (WRMHD), a small, tribally based research
unit, which regularly conducts PAR evaluation with community-based
health organisations. To set the context, WRMHD’s philosophical drivers
and model of evaluation practice are described. The key principles of
PAR evaluation and limitations of the approach are briey discussed
with reference to WRMHD’s model of practice. The article then considers
the issue of blurred boundaries; the conditions under which this
phenomenon is likely to arise; and why it presents such a challenge to
WRMHD’s evaluation work. The article concludes by proposing a series
of strategies that could be employed to mitigate the tensions that arise
when the boundaries between roles become blurred.
Introduction
The degree of congruence that exists between kaupapa Māori evaluation and
participatory evaluation approaches is becoming more widely recognised (Kerr 2012).
At the core of each approach is the belief in a collective responsibility to share in the
generation of knowledge, and that control must be positioned within the community
of interest. It is the concept of collective responsibility and the impact this may have
on evaluation practice that is explored in this article. Specifically, we will discuss
the implications for evaluation practice when the boundaries between program
evaluation and project management roles become blurred—a situation that in our
experience sometimes occurs when undertaking evaluation using kaupapa Māori
and participatory evaluation approaches for a myriad of reasons, not the least of
these being the desire to advance the Māori position. In order to understand how this
blurring of boundaries can arise, we begin by explaining the context of our work and
our role as community-based evaluators.
Context
Whakauae Research for Māori Health and Development (WRMHD) is a Māori
health research organisation that is located in Whanganui, Aotearoa New Zealand
and operates under the mandate of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Hauiti1. Our vision is to
‘assist Māori to reach their potential’; and our mission is to help address barriers
to this by sustainably delivering Māori research founded on academic and research
excellence, bringing together Ngāti Hauiti interests with the interests of Māori in
general (WRMHD 2009).
Amohia Boulton
Heather Giord
Amohia Boulton (left) is a Senior Researcher
at Whakauae Research for Māori Health and
Development, Whanganui, New Zealand.
Email: <amohia@whakauae.co.nz>
Heather Giord (right) is the Director of
Whakauae Research for Māori Health and
Development, Whanganui, New Zealand.
Email: <heather@whakauae.co.nz>
Evaluation Journal of Australasia, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2012, pp. 40–45
REFEREED ARTICLE
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