A Little Less Conversation, a Little More Action: Participatory Insider Action Research in an Executive Team

In this paper, we describe a Participatory Insider Action Research (PIAR) intervention within the Executive Committee (EC) of a large publicly funded service for people with intellectual disabilities. I was a member of this EC and had been for 20 years. The intervention ran over a two-year period and comprised three cycles of PIAR. We addressed two specific organisational issues but our work did not deliver change in these areas in a substantial sense. We identify power dynamics and role duality challenges as the core factors that contributed to this outcome and describe their effects in this under-researched domain. We finish by offering some advice for future researchers undertaking initiatives of this nature.

Power and Politics in New Service Development: An Insider Action Research Study

This paper examines power dynamics and political challenges which an insider action researcher without line authority or formal power encountered while leading cross-functional New Service Development (NSD) initiatives in a traditional, publicly funded university. NSD, as any development activity, faces competing interests in organisations and often power dynamics and political tactics which may impede service actors’ development endeavours. The paper describes and reflects on how an insider action researcher together with service staff, managers and directors, conducted several different types of NSD initiatives. The paper draws on insider action research (IAR) principles, which engage theory with practice, and action with reflection. The study was carried out over an extended time period of almost three years. The paper concludes with a framework for addressing power dynamics and political action, identifying tactics available to service development actors when engaging in NSD.

Insider action research towards companywide sustainable product innovation: ecodesign transition framework

PurposeThis study discusses the application of Insider Action Research to the systematic integration of an environmental perspective into industrial product innovation processes and projects. Applying Insider Action Research, it aims at a broader integration between top-down and bottom-up and soft and hard perspectives in the intersection of ecodesign and innovation and project management disciplines.Design/methodology/approachThe research design is based on action research and specificities from Insider Action Research to capture the change and transition aspects involving two main action research cycles. The longitudinal five-year research was carried out within a Brazilian cosmetics company. The outcomes of these cycles are analysed including customisation of ecodesign tools and related application, and views of different stakeholders of the challenge for the transition.FindingsThis paper describes an action research application aiming at faster learning loops in the field of sustainable innovation management. As a second contribution, an Ecodesign Transition Framework (ETF) is proposed, combining both technical and soft sides. The proposed framework is structured in three levels (strategic, tactical and operational), with two complementary perspectives of a mature ecodesign pattern and a transition pathway.Practical implicationsThe action research led to the intended outcomes both on the applied side, with increased diffusion of ecodesign in the company, and on the research side, with the ETF formulation and application. Practitioners interested in sustainable innovation can follow the ETF procedures, challenges faced, lessons learnt and conclusions.Originality/valueThe Insider Action Research addressed the literature gap to better relate the recommendations in the field to business reality. The resulting ETF brings a novel perspective for integrating environmental considerations in the product innovation process of a company. It organises the soft issues to be considered for the necessary transition towards such integration, consolidating and advancing previous theoretical views of ecodesign, with associated new practical implications.

Patient involvement in the development of the Danish surgical breast cancer patient pathway – An action research project

Although patient involvement is on the political agenda, the influence on clinical practice is poorly described. The aim of this study was to explore and evaluate the participatory process of involving patients and relatives in development of a surgical breast cancer patient pathway. The overall design was insider action research and included two Danish surgical breast cancer clinics. In dialogue meetings patients, relatives, and healthcare professionals (HCPs) discussed suggestions for improving the pathway. Patients and relatives were satisfied with the pathway organisation in general. However, suggestions related to information, communication, and choice of treatment were presented. In response to this, a patient decision aid was developed, tested, and implemented, and HCPs increased focus on male relatives, and made minor changes to the pathway. Participants were satisfied with the participatory process, however, recommendations for future dialogue meetings included shortening the follow-up period, using a skilled facilitator, reminding HCPs being open-minded, and emphasizing for patients and relatives that participation may require a surplus of mental resources. Overall, recommendations on patient involvement obtained from this project could, due to their general relevance, be implemented in clinical settings other than breast cancer. Furthermore, action research proved a suitable design for research on patient involvement.

Research in and for CISV across Seven Decades: Research/Practice Interfaces in Youth Learning Mobility Organizations

This paper examines the organizational interface between research and practice in the field of youth learning mobility. The research is based on insider action research in CISV International (formerly known as Children’s International Summer Villages), an international charity dedicated to non-formal peace education through international educational programmes for children and youth. Across a total of 70 years overall, the paper identifies three periods of research/practice collaboration in CISV. For each period, the relative size of research-related operations in CISV, the content of research, and how the research/practice interface has been designed is discussed. The paper concludes that youth mobility organizations should be prepared to see research/practice interfaces change significantly over time and that each type of interface implies specific trade-offs.

Exploring Doctorateness in Insider Action Research

While debates about the nature of ‘doctorateness’ are prevalent in higher education, what this might mean in the context of insider action research, where action research is undertaken by members of an organisation or community, has not received any attention. This article explores how an insider action research engagement in a thesis and core project generates a synergy between the actions, a deep discipline knowledge, competence in research through first, second and third person processes, and competence in presentation can serve as a foundation for doctorateness. The dissemination contributes to a community of practice and inquiry.