Who Stole my Methodology? Co-opting PAR

As we enter the 21st century it seems likely that the collection of methodologies and methods that have constituted PAR will continue to permeate mainstream research. There is increasing evidence, for example, that the discourse of participatory action research is now being widely used by international development agencies, NGOs and related organisations to promote a wide array of educational, healthcare and social programmes. This paper argues that the increasing popularity and use of PAR over recent years poses both possibilities and problems for researchers. In particular, it will discuss the challenges that this process presents to the concept of participation within PAR, as well as the implications it has for constructing methodologies for inclusive forms of participatory research.