Participatory Action Research
When people most affected by social challenges help shape solutions, we get better results. Participatory Action Research (PAR) engages community members as equal partners in identifying issues, gathering and interpreting data, and co-creating strategies for change.
Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) equips youth with tools to investigate the issues impacting their lives and to take action for meaningful change.
The result is research that is not only rigorous, but also grounded in lived experience, equity-driven, and immediately connected to action.
Participatory Action Research
PAR and YPAR are excellent modes for investigating critical issues, deepening engagement, developing skilled leaders, and activating change. Whether your organization is planning a discrete project or seeking to integrate PAR and YPAR into organizational practices, I can help you do so successfully. My services include:
Designing participatory research projects rooted in community priorities
Facilitating training for youth and community researchers
Supporting data collection methods (surveys, interviews, focus groups, storytelling, arts-based approaches)
Guiding collaborative data analysis and sense-making
Helping translate findings into strategies, advocacy, and action
Building organizational capacity to sustain participatory research practices
Featured Projects: Participatory Action Research
Reimagining Juvenile Justice
School and Main Institute, 2025
With a desire to scale impact, School and Main Institute is developing a guidebook for practitioners based on their learnings from the multi-year Reimagining Juvenile Justice (RJJ) initiative. As part of this effort, I provided hands-on training in Youth Participatory Action Research and coached a small team of young adults through the design and implementation of youth-led listening sessions.
Pathways for Girls
The American Cities Coalition, 2019
This Youth Participatory Action Research project equipped 6 young women in Roxbury, MA to design and implement a mixed-methods research project to investigate barriers and opportunities for upward mobility among young women in Nubian Square. The project engaged 160 young women through surveys and focus groups, and resulted in a comprehensive report that spurred action and collaboration toward girls empowerment.
Making Youth Voices Heard
Emmanuel Gospel Center, 2018
A Youth Participatory Action Research project with youth from lower Roxbury, aimed at addressing rising violence in the community. Eleven youth from two local organizations designed a robust research project to better resident opinions and experiences related to the root causes of violence, including drug use, poverty, and inequities in education and employment. The youth presented their data and recommendations to stakeholders and continued using YPAR to deepen their work.