1. Participatory Action Research (PAR)
Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) NTU and Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC)
Dr Adam Barnard,
Catherine Goodall, MA
Nottingham Trent University
In a unique venture, Nottingham Trent University and Nottinghamshire County Council have entered into a 30 month Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), to research and innovate services for children and young people in the county. The project will research, map and evaluate current children’s services, with a focus on the approach taken with the family once an assessment of need has taken place, and parenting support. The partnership also provides an opportunity for both organisations to benefit from the transfer and flow of knowledge and experience.
Abstract
The initial stages of the project have been completed with success, integrating the project with wider work in both organisations. A first test of the parenting support toolkit will be implemented in services across the county by April 2015, followed by in-depth testing.
Sustained evaluation will be conducted, and adaptations will be made to ensure that parenting support is more accurately targeted, delivered in a more consistent manner, and has a greater impact on children and families’ lives. Data collected will provide evidence to support commissioning and will lead to improvements in efficiency and outcomes. Data collected from PAR involvement will also be key in these changes going forward.
Progress
The project will employ a range of methods to research and assess the current provisions, and improve and transform service delivery.
Literature reviews have been conducted on parenting programmes, and approaches to working with children and families. The evidence and findings from these are informing reviews of services, and initial decision making.
A parenting support pilot toolkit is currently being designed, engaging leadership, management and practitioners from a range of services, and children and families.
Methods
Figure 1: Children’s responses regarding their workers
This project represents a unique opportunity to embed academic principles and practice within a local authority Children’s Services department. The KTP not only seeks to strengthen links between the two organisations and to improve service design and delivery, but also to trigger widespread cultural change towards involving families and practitioners at a higher level.
The first year of the project has been successfully completed, with a range of benefits to both organisations having been realised.
Conclusions
Introduction
Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) provides a range of services to 786,000 people across the county. The Children, Families and Cultural Services department provides interventions to support vulnerable children and families at an early stage, to improve outcomes and avoid late and costly interventions. The project has several main interlinked aspects:
To assess the approach taken to working with children and families
To review parenting support
To collaborate with children, young people, families and practitioners in action research, and to create a culture change for sustained involvement in the future
To develop, implement and test tools and processes
To report on findings to both the Council and the University
To produce articles and conference presentations based on findings
A substantial part of this research will involve children, young people and those associated in their care in Participatory Action Research (PAR). This methodology should ensure that children and young people are given a voice and a chance to be included in the improvement and innovation of services designed to meet their needs.
“PAR, it is frequently argued, is not a method but an approach, and is based on values of empowerment and social justice” (McCardle, in Stern et al, 2014:82). Employing PAR as a methodology “is a cyclical process involving three distinct phases of planning, action and critical reflection” (Ward and Bailey, 2012:151). Central are the principles of involvement, agency and empowerment, seeking to collaborate with participants to bring about real-world change.
Beyond the normal challenges that PAR with children and young people presents, this project aims to embed the principles of collaborative engagement with children and families into the department.
Participatory Action Research (PAR)
Dr Adam Barnard’s research is concerned with promoting the best outcomes for children and young people, working with the complexities of service delivery and developing reflective practice for professionals. He is programme leader on the professional doctorate in social practice. He is engaged in doctoral supervision and a member of the school’s ethics committee.
Catherine Goodall is the KTP Associate for this project, based in the Social Work and Professional Practice Division at NTU and hosted by the Council. Catherine has an MA in International Relations and a BA in Social and Cultural Studies and a varied employment history in Administration, Project Management and Research.
Project Team
Contact
References
Catherine Goodall
NTU and NCC
McCardle, K. (2014) Research as empowerment: blending PAR with community development in Stern et al. Action Research, Innovation and Change
Ward, J. and Bailey, D. (2012) Consent, confidentiality and the ethics of PAR in the context of prison research Studies in Qualitative Methodology 12,