Beyond thinking differently: Introducing Action Research Centre

The task of social transformation is daunting. It requires multi-disciplinary approaches to arrive at outcomes that would resonate with the contextual experiences in the community. Traditionally, several individuals have drawn a dichotomy between evidence-based research and advocacy as plausible approaches to social change. On the one hand, they relegate the role of advocacy to not-for-profit organisations, on the other hand, they reduce the task of producing evidence-based research to academics in the universities.

Action Research Centre bridges this gap. We engage in both evidence-based research as well as advocacy through partnerships. We are convinced that the research that is worth doing is that which takes the community experience as a starting point to reflect critically with the intention to catalyse social change. We use the tools of critical reflection, advocacy, community awareness and policy dialogue to create strategic intervention so as to reduce the level and impacts of family and domestic violence, reduce the risk of homelessness, and build a resilient and inclusive community.

Our research and initiatives can be categorised into two streams. The first stream deals with combating the menace of domestic violence, while the second stream addresses the issues of social cohesion. Our initiatives in this stream address the problems of homelessness, asylum seekers, migration and building community resilience.    

If we would experience a significant change in the living experience of people in the community, action research is the way to go. Our research and initiatives firstly attempt to understand what are the key factors, secondly why those issues are severe, and thirdly how the evidence produced through critical reflection and community engagement can influence policy dialogue and sustainable social change.   
 

Our aspiration is to change the community attitude and stimulate policymakers to think different but most importantly, to act differently in decisive ways. Martha Minow reminds us of the crucial place of decisive action: 

“We cannot change our world simply by thinking about it differently, nor can we change it unless we think differently enough to see where we are, and, with this sight, act differently.”

Get in touch with us if you see an area of intersection between what we do and the focus of your organisation.

Reference

Minow, M. (1985). Learning to live with the dilemma of difference: Bilingual and special education. Law and Contemporary Problems, 48(2), 157–211.