WP5

European Letter of Qualityon

Action-Research Favoring Territorial Governance of Sustainable Development.

Annual Conference of Territorial IntelligenceVALDOCCO Foundation- Huelva University (Spain)

October, 24th – 27th 2006

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WP5 Objectives.

First year Objective:

•To reach a consensus on the formulation of a series of basic principles the members think they should be observed by the protocols of Action-Research applied to territorial development, in such a way that the processes and results of the research allow promoting good governance.

Second year Objective:

•The issue of specific protocols has been tackled by drawing up the proposal of a quality letter for Action-Research applied to territorial governance of sustainable development.

Third year Objective:

•Evaluation of CAENTI A-R regarding the quality letter.

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CONTEXT -Sustainable Development as a multidimensional issue.

- Political decentralization and emergence of territorial projects.

- Higher complexity of territorial decision-making networks: territorial governance.

- Knowledge Society as a Learning Society.

- ICT’s as a development key factor.

CONTEXT -Sustainable Development as a multidimensional issue.

- Political decentralization and emergence of territorial projects.

- Higher complexity of territorial decision-making networks: territorial governance.

- Knowledge Society as a Learning Society.

- ICT’s as a development key factor.

CAENTI research action experience

- Action-Research as a link between territorial intelligence and governance.

- Principles of A-R favoring territorial governance of sustainable development:

• Transformation, Multidimensionality, Partnership, Participation, Sustainability, Transparence, Co-responsibility, Co-learning, Co-evaluation.

- Participation as an Action-Research key factor.

CAENTI research action experience

- Action-Research as a link between territorial intelligence and governance.

- Principles of A-R favoring territorial governance of sustainable development:

• Transformation, Multidimensionality, Partnership, Participation, Sustainability, Transparence, Co-responsibility, Co-learning, Co-evaluation.

- Participation as an Action-Research key factor.

Quality criteria

Participation as a key factor of quality

What partipation process is made of?

Pillars of participation

Reflection on the Quality of Action-Research

Reflection on the Quality of Action-Research

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Particular aspects of CAENTI action research processes:

Context:

•Sustainable Development as a multidimensional issue.• Political decentralization and emergence of territorial projects.• Higher complexity of territorial decision-making networks: territorial

governance.•Knowledge Society as a Learning Society.• ICT’s as a development key factor.

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Particular aspects of CAENTI research action processes:

AUTOANALISYS of our A-R experiences: Catalogue.

Territorial focus (needs of actor managing territorial projects).Multidimensionality (sectors, disciplines).Mix qualitative and qualitative analysis (methodological

rigorousness).ICTs more than a single mean, central tools.Territorial pedagogy.Long-term projects.Participation involves all levels not only institutional heads.Balanced relationship researchers-actors.

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CAENTI A-R Principles

1. Transformation: it is an implicit principle in the action-research concept; it consists in fostering the transformer role that research can perform on social reality. Social needs as a starting point.

2. Multidimensionality: focusing on research object by using a multidimensional and multi-sector well-balanced approach.

3. Partnership: fostering and involving territorial partnerships in the research-action processes.

4. Participation: ensuring territorial actors’ participation (those who directly face territorial problems) is carried out in an effective way.

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CAENTI A-R Principles

5. Sustainability: it consists in carrying out long term action-research processes which are needed to obtain a more evolutionary knowledge in order to generate sustainable territorial development dynamics.

6. Transparency: the research-action processes must lead to a higher

results transparency regarding both knowledge and policies, facilitating and democratizing the processes of decisions making.

7. Co-responsibility: the component “action” and the component “research” are equally responsible for the process evolution.

8. Co-learning: the research-action processes must facilitate the cooperative learning of all the participants, improving the ability of the territorial system to look for solutions to the future problems keeping in mind their anterior experience. In other words, they ought to strengthen the development of the territorial intelligence.

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CAENTI A-R Principles

How could we apply all these principles?

Participation: Participation as an Action-Research key factor.

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CAENTI A-R Principles

But,

What kind of participation is able to achieve quality?

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Quality criteriaOutcome:

•Better knowledge of territorial dynamics (theory, models, indicators) and research methods adjusted to territorial features and dynamics.

•Ability of Action-Research project to originate a territorial action more adjusted to the inhabitants’ real needs.

Process: Better ability to mobilise and mutualise the territorial actors’ competences in the long term.

Quality?Quality?

Empowerment

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DurableCollaborativeParticipation

Quality

How to construct this DCP?

WP5

European Letter of Qualityon

Action-Research Favoring Territorial Governance of Sustainable Development.

Annual Conference of Territorial IntelligenceVALDOCCO Foundation- Huelva University (Spain)

October, 24th – 27th 2006