Page 53 - text

Change approaches & management tools SeCtion tWo
ACTION RESEARCH Description
Action Research provides the methodological basis for many planned models of organisational change and is widely used. The process is designed to enable participants to gain new insights into their situation as a spur to action and change. It seeks to:
• analyse a known problem from a wide range of perspectives;
• identify a range of possible solutions; and
• test the ability of the chosen solution(s) to solve the original problem.
Use
Ideally suited to exploring and addressing complex ‘known’ problems with no obvious solutions, the approach is often undertaken by practitioners with the help of external consultants to facilitate the learning process. It involves cycles of planning to inform interventions, action in the light of planning, and an assessment of impact used to inform future planning cycles.
Stages in the Action Research Cycle
1. Problem identification: by a person with influence within the organisation
2. Consultation with expert facilitator(s): facilitators and organisational representatives share
and explore their values to foster open collaboration
3. Data collection and preliminary analysis: typically undertaken jointly by facilitators and organisational members to explore the underlying causes of manifest problems, drawing on multiple sources of data (observation, interview, questionnaire, and performance data)
4. Feedback to client/group: basic data and initial analysis presented for validation
5. Joint diagnosis of problem: facilitator explores the main themes of the problems with the
group
6. Joint action planning: agreement on action required drawing on the culture of the organisation, nature of problems identified, and available resources
7. Action: implementation of interventions to an agreed timescale
8. Data gathering and action: measurement of the effects of the intervention(s), leading to re-
diagnosis and further action (cycle back to step 4 above, as required)
(Adapted from Cummings & Worley, 2009, pp. 25–6)
50