Action Research, Participation, Empowerment and Social Change

“Bringing a different world into existence: Action research as a trigger for innovations.” This motto of the Viennese CARN-conference in 2011 brought together academics and practitioners in education, social work, health care and community development from all four continents Their common goal is to improve social situations and promote principled change by involving the people who are in the focus of the investigation as co-researchers and to empower them as stakeholders in their own affairs. Two CARN-books containing more than forty case studies show that participatory action research can generate knowledge which is valuable for the people concerned and cannot be attained otherwise. It has immediate impact, leads to innovative problem solutions and leads to significant changes in social settings. Three exemplary projects illustrate this achievement: (a) 30 years of educational reform through action research leave conspicuous traces in the Austrian school system; (b) The inclusion of old people in designing a care program innovates the welfare policy in an English town; (c) Young people who are involved in a research program about their own precarious situation create ideas for problem solutions and gain confidence so that they can successfully manage their own lives in solidarity with others.