Bioregional Participatory Action Research framework
Introduction and intended use
The Bioregional Participatory Action Research (BPAR) framework offers guidance to take action for bioregional regeneration: improving socio-ecological conditions of your life-place. BPAR is applicable when you have a problem, question or challenge where there is no best practice to follow and you need to discover what works. It gives a sense of orientation and direction: Where am I and what should I do? The framework can be used incidentally to reflect on your current situation and determine the next action, or it can be used fully from start to finish. The framework also offers a frame to explain how you are regenerating a bioregion. The framework is deliberately minimal and is meant to be adapted and extended to fit your local bioregional context. Use what works, discard what does not and add what is missing.
Steps and outcome: What to do
Execute four steps (bold) to ensure twelve outcomes (underlined and numbered). When used from start to finish, write these outcomes in a research paper (blue italic
) to share with others.
Direction: Calling Enquiry
Introduction
- Formulate a Research question (1) and
- limit scope (2) geographically, relationally and conceptually.
Research: Connect & Explore
Initial exploration and literature review
- Explore the landscape (3),
- Connect with stakeholders (4) and
- Perform a literature review (5).
Action: Collaborate & Experiment
Methods
Run experiment to test hypothesis:
- “Will Action (6) lead to
- Intended Outcome (7)?"
- Collaborate: Design for participation (8),
- Make sure to collect data and observations (9).
Wisdom: Community Evaluation
Results
- Analyse data and observations to validate hypothesis (10).
Conclusion and discussion
- Answer research question (11) and
- Determine next step (12) - a new BPAR cycle.
Principles: How to do it
The steps tell you what to do and the principles tell you how to do it. These principles can be applied at every step to infuse them with the spirit of BPAR. As BPAR is a minimal framework, use these principles to guide your decisions in adapting and extending the framework for your local context. There are four principles that are based on the name: BPAR
.
Every principle is formulated as a question and a value statement: “We value X over Y”. Which means that while Y might be useful at times, we prefer X when faced with a dilemma.
The Bioregional Principle
How are you listening or regenerating the Bioregion?
We value a deep ecological view over an anthropocentric view (Bio-)
We value a place-based view over a global view (-regional)
Listening applies to the Direction/Research steps and Regenerating to the Action/Wisdom steps.
The Participatory Principle
How are you inviting people to Participate?
We value sharing over retaining (of information, decisions, resources, work, power)
The Action Principle
How are you taking Action for bioregional regeneration?
We value action for bioregional regeneration over thinking and talking.
The Research Principle
How are you Researching?
We value discovery over delivery (learning over performing).
A visual overview
A visual overview of the steps and outcomes:
- What the steps deliver is
DRAW
:D
irection,R
esearch,A
ction andW
isdom. - What you do is
EEEE
:
E
nquire,E
xplore,E
xperiment andE
valuate. - How you invite participation is
CCCC
:C
all,C
onnect,C
ollaborate &C
ommunity.
See the yellow figures in outcomes 1, 4, 8 and 12.
A visual overview of the principles:
The value statements are illustrated: bioregion above anthropocentric & global , sharing over retaining, action over thinking and discovery over delivery.
Getting started
Use the framework
Use BPAR to
- …find the next best action in an existing initiative.
- …structure an initiative from start to finish.
- …as a frame to explain to others what you are doing.
- …improve your strategy.
Read the BPAR guide to learn how.
Learn more about Bioregional Participatory Action Research
Read the BPAR guide and learn more:
- An introduction to Bioregoning and Participatory Action Research.
- A deep dive into the DRAW-steps and BPAR-principles.
- Additional models and methods to extend and adapt the framework.
- Further reading and resources to continue learning.
Remix this framework to fit your needs
Use the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, which requires you to attribute the authors and share under the same license.