Workshop

Foundations of participatory action research (PAR 101)

Background

Explore supports governments in using high-quality research to improve policies and institutional frameworks for inclusive and sustainable development of forest landscapes in the region. To achieve this, Explore works closely with researchers and research institutions to build their capacity to design, conduct and apply high-quality, participatory and gender-inclusive research on forest landscape governance.

Participatory action research (PAR) is a key guiding principle of Explore, underpinning its commitment to contextually grounded research that can meaningfully inform policy. PAR is a collaborative approach where researchers work alongside local communities, Indigenous Peoples and other key forest landscape stakeholders – from research inception to dissemination of findings. It emphasizes participation, reflection and action to address challenges in forest landscape governance rooted in local realities.

Through ongoing collaboration and reflective processes, PAR ensures that research responds directly to community needs and results in practical, action-oriented solutions. Research outputs and policy recommendations are co-produced by researchers and stakeholders, enhancing both their legitimacy and relevance.

An upcoming foundations training on PAR (PAR 101) will strengthen the capacity of Explore researchers to apply PAR by deepening their understanding of its principles, tools and practical application.

Overall objectives

Explore is organizing an online training on PAR for improving forest landscape governance in Southeast Asia.

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

explain the fundamentals of conducting research and how PAR fits within broader research approaches
understand the purpose of PAR and the contexts in which it is most effective, including in forest landscape governance
design a participatory action research plan to address key issues in forest landscape governance
apply key PAR tools in the context of forest landscape governance

Expected participants

This course is for Explore-supported research teams – including principal investigators, co-investigators and researchers – who will attend PAR 102 (scheduled for 21–27 July 2025) and feel they would benefit from a foundations course beforehand.

Participation is by invitation only.

Tentative agenda

All sessions will be held from 13:00–17:00 ICT online via Zoom

Time [+07]	Session details
13:00–17:00 - +07	Introduction, agenda and norm setting What is PAR and why it matters PAR vs conventional research methodologies Break Core values of participatory approach in PAR Applying PAR to your context Wrap up and close

Time [+07]	Session details
13:00–17:00 - +07	Reflection on Day 1 Fundamental elements to support PAR PAR Tool 1: Mind mapping/situational analysis PAR Tool 2: Problem tree Break PAR Tool 3: Resource mapping PAR Tool 4: Pairwise ranking

Time [+07]	Session details
13:00–17:00 - +07	Reflection of Day 2 PAR Tool 5: Matrix ranking PAR Tool 6: SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) PAR Tool 7: Stakeholder analysis and engagement BREAK Analyzing PAR data Monitoring, evaluation and learning for PAR Next steps, wrap up and close

Explore is a research network and community of practice dedicated to expanding and applying knowledge on forest landscape governance in Southeast Asia. The network is funded by the government of Sweden. It is hosted by RECOFTC, in partnership with the CIFOR-ICRAF, in collaboration with universities, research institutes, governments, civil society organizations, local communities and the private sector in Southeast Asia.

For more information about Explore, contact [email protected]. To become a member of Explore, visit here.