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Description
According to the research, most Estonian inhabitants find that their voices should be more heard in the decision-making processes. The aim of the project is to strengthen democratic culture by involving citizens in participatory action research (PAR) to increasingly take part in knowledge creation needed for decision-making processes.
PAR is a research approach based on democratic principles and understanding that knowledge creation for social change needs to involve people from the target groups in all stages of the studies. By using PAR people affected by common issues take charge of creating knowledge and through the research process become more empowered and capable to direct changes. The approach is based on the understanding that people are experts of their experience and that research into social issues should not be a process that only researchers are entitled to. PAR approach has been used only in a few cases in Estonia.
To achieve our objectives, (1) PAR is introduced to NGO and public sector representatives who are involved with policy research; (2) two pilot-studies based on PAR approach are implemented in cooperation with project partners Estonian Union for Child Welfare and Estonian Fund for Nature; and (3) web-based guidelines about PAR will be published in Estonian.
As a result of the project PAR will be increasingly used and this will empower and involve different groups better to the decision-making processes.
Summary of project results
According to the research, most Estonian inhabitants find that their voices should be more heard in the decision-making processes. The aim of this project is to strengthen democratic culture by involving citizens in participatory action research (PAR) to increasingly take part in knowledge creation needed for decision-making processes.
PAR is a research approach based on democratic principles and understanding that knowledge creation for social change needs to involve people from the target groups in all stages of the studies. By using PAR people affected by common issues take charge of creating knowledge and through the research process become more empowered and capable to direct changes. The approach is based on the understanding that people are experts of their experience and that research into social issues should not be a process that only researchers are entitled to. PAR approach has been used only in a few cases in Estonia.
As a result of the project PAR will be increasingly used and this will empower and involve different groups better to the decision-making processes.
Key activities of the project were:
- PAR was conducted with people active in the protection of forests of substantial public interest (so called KAH areas), which provided valuable experience to Praxis and project partner Estonian Fund for Nature, who also contributed to the PAR guidelines.
- Mapping of the process for obtaining ethics committee approval for PAR with vulnerable children in Estonia, facilitating future research efforts.
- Training of 29 CSO and public sector representatives (March 2023) and 11 professionals working with children (March 2024) on PAR - altogether individuals from 25 different organizations/institutions.
- Development of the first comprehensive Estonian-language PAR guidelines to assist students, researchers, CSOs and activists in conducting PAR, and to better inform funding bodies interested in supporting PAR projects.
The project enhanced Praxis’s and its project partners ability to conduct and support PAR, provided practical training, and created resources that will continue to guide future research and increase the capacity of civil society organizations to conduct such research in Estonia. The involvement of an external expert allowed for a smooth knowledge transition and guided practice throughout the project. This mechanism for sustainability, combined with the production and dissemination of the guidance material, ensures that researchers, activists, and policymakers in Estonia have ongoing access to necessary resources and expertise to implement PAR, resulting in marginalized groups’ meaningful involvement in decisions influencing their lives.