Participatory Action Research
The International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (ICCCR) at Teachers College, Columbia University is partnering with The Fortune Society, a Harlem based nonprofit organization that supports formerly incarcerated men and women in reentering society and rebuilding their lives, in conducting a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project.In the PAR methodology, community members and researchers work together to address challenges faced by the community, and, in so doing, share knowledge and information; the researchers learn about the lived-experiences of the community and the community members learn research, self-reflective practices and problem-solving skills.
This PAR project has several objectives. At the broadest level, it aims to co-create a new model of violence prevention and conflict resolution for the Fortune community, while reflecting on and drawing implications for the broader process of collaborative model-building. Secondly, another objective is to observe examples of collaborative knowledge creation in the PAR process. A third objective, from a social justice perspective, is raising the visibility of both the Fortune Academy’s approach to transmitting culturally-competent constructive conflict resolution skills and the use of PAR technology.
Questions regarding The Fortune Society project can be directed to Christianna Gozzi at cgozzi@ei.columbia.edu.