Background
Explore supports governments in leveraging high-quality research to improve policies and institutional frameworks for inclusive and sustainable forest landscapes in the region. To achieve this, Explore works closely with researchers and institutions to strengthen their capacity to design, conduct and apply participatory and gender-inclusive research on forest landscape governance.
Participatory action research (PAR) is a valuable approach for policy advocacy and influence in forest landscape governance. It fosters the co-creation of research, knowledge and outputs that are context-specific, actionable and locally owned. PAR encourages active involvement of local communities, Indigenous Peoples, government officials and other stakeholders, ensuring that diverse perspectives and lived experiences are central to the research process. This inclusive approach helps uncover governance challenges and collaboratively design solutions that are specifically tailored to the unique social, ecological and political circumstances of each landscape. It also strengthens the credibility of policy recommendations and builds a sense of ownership and trust among stakeholders, which is essential for successful policy implementation.
The ongoing cycle of research, reflection and action inherent in PAR supports the continual adaptation of strategies, keeping them responsive to policy priorities and the dynamic nature of socio-political environments. By amplifying the voices of marginalized groups and generating evidence grounded in local realities, PAR can inform landscape-level policy processes and contribute to broader policy change at the national level.
Overall objectives
Explore is organizing a five-day training course on participatory action research for policy outreach and influence.
By the end of the training, participants will be able to:
- design and carry out participatory action research to achieve policy influence
- integrate gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) principles into every stage of the PAR process
- apply practical tools and strategies to connect PAR findings with actionable policy outcomes
- develop a site-specific action plan to deepen their understanding of the PAR approach and its application to their research
Expected participants
This course is primarily intended for principal investigators (PIs) and co-principal investigators (co-PIs) leading Explore-supported research. It is also open to researchers who joined the foundations of participatory action research (PAR 101) training and can provide ongoing support to PIs and Co-PIs in PAR and policy outreach.
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About Explore
Explore is a research network and community of practice focused on expanding and applying knowledge related to forest landscape governance in Southeast Asia.
Launched in October 2020 and funded by the Government of Sweden, Explore is hosted by RECOFTC in partnership with the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) and collaborates with universities, research institutes, governments, civil society organizations, local communities and the private sector across Southeast Asia.
For more information about Explore, contact [email protected]. To learn more about Explore, visit here.