Dr. Blanca Miedes UgarteAssociated Professor of Applied Economy

Observatorio Local de Empleowww.ole.uhu.es

Universidad de Huelva (Spain)miedes@uhu.es

Research-Action Line “Governance” European Network of Territorial Intelligence

www.territorial-intelligence.eu

CaENTI quality letter on action-researchWP5-CAENTI discussion

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Particular aspects of CAENTI research action processes:

1.Territorial focus (actors’ needs).2.Multidimensionality (sectors, disciplines).3.Mix qualitative and qualitative analysis (methodological

rigorousness).4.TICs more than a single mean, central tools.5.Territorial pedagogy.6.Long term projects.7.Participation involve all levels not only institutional heads.8.Balanced relationship researchers-actors.

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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:

•Catalogues and video.•Analysis of CAENTI A-R regarding the quality letter (wp6u)

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CONTEXT -Sustainable Development as a multidimensional issue.

- Political decentralization and emergence of territorial projects.

- Higher complexity of territorial decision-making, formal and informal 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, formal and informal 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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PrinciplesTransformation: it is an implicit principle in the research-action

concept; it consists in fostering the transformer role that research can performed on social reality. Social needs as departing point.

Multidimensionality: focussing research object using a multidimensional and multisectorial well balanced approach.

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

Participation: assuring that territorial actors’ participation (those who are directly confronted with territorial problems) is carried out in an effective way.

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PrinciplesSustainability: 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.

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

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

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

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

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Quality criteriaOutcome:

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

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

Process:

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

Quality?Quality?

Territorial Actors Empowerment

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DurableCollaborativeParticipation

Quality

How to construct this DCP?

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PILLAR 1:

Territorial Resources Mobilisation

- Research on the target territory’s resources (knowledge and actors mapping).

- Organising actors/researchers partnerships.

PILLAR 1:

Territorial Resources Mobilisation

- Research on the target territory’s resources (knowledge and actors mapping).

- Organising actors/researchers partnerships.

PILLAR 2:

Knowledge and Abilities Mutualisation

- Multidimensionality of Action-Research.

- Co-learning.

PILLAR 2:

Knowledge and Abilities Mutualisation

- Multidimensionality of Action-Research.

- Co-learning.

DurableCollaborativeParticipation

DurableCollaborativeParticipation

PILLAR 3:

Participants’ Responsibleness

- Organisation of collaborative management of the project.

- Deontology and autonomy of participants.

PILLAR 3:

Participants’ Responsibleness

- Organisation of collaborative management of the project.

- Deontology and autonomy of participants.

PILLAR 4:

Common Mastery of Results

- Continuous assessment of Action-Research impacts on territory.

- Durability of developed actions.

PILLAR 4:

Common Mastery of Results

- Continuous assessment of Action-Research impacts on territory.

- Durability of developed actions.

CaENTI Quality Letter Pillars.

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ICTS:- Information gathering, manage and use of information.- Communication easiness.- Generation of virtual working spaces.

ICTS:- Information gathering, manage and use of information.- Communication easiness.- Generation of virtual working spaces. Added Values

- Action-Research representativeness within territory.

- Generation of trustable networks.

- Mutual learning between action and research fields.

- Introduction of continuous systemic assessment in territorial action.

- Reorient research objectives in terms of territorial needs.

- Valorisation and recognition of social action and research.

DURABLE COLLABORATIVE PARTICIPATION ADDED VALUES.

Huelva debate

• The quality letter is a proposal which takes as its reference an ideal (Balanced) model of territorial action-research project was raised.

• Most real projects do not have a comprehensive nature, nor are the processes that originate them as linear as the reading of the letter may intend.

• Thus, the letter is a set of general guidelines and recommendations for actors and investigators to approach participatory processes from a global perspective.

• Its application must be oriented by the participants in action-research projects to the specific characteristics of each case.

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Huelva debate

• Two crucial questions:

– Quality may be assessed, giving rise to the corresponding plan of improvements to feedback the process.

– Its an instrument thought for the teams’ internal use, as a reference for self-assessment, It not might be used in a decontextualised way by external funders.

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After Huelva

• A self-assessment template on the quality of participatory processes in territorial action-research projects was elaborated (UHU and UFC).

• Participative process of vatuation by CaENTI wp5 teams.

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Steps for implementation

a) Choice of work team responsible for quality and planning.– Equilibrated composition– Awareness about needed resources (time).

b) Adaptation of the template to the specific features of the action-research project.– More research oriented or more action oriented.– Context.

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Content• The template is made up, firstly, of a number of statements

related with the achievement of activities performed in the project which are directly involved in quality improvement. The statements have been arranged around the four pillars.

• The teams must show to what extent they agree with the statements included in the template, which are always written indicating that each activity has been performed correctly. – They can value from 1 (“totally disagree with the statement”, therefore,

the worst with respect to the project quality) to 5 (“totally agree with the statement”, therefore, the best with respect to the project quality).

• It is important is that the final valuation reflected in the template will be the result of agreement.

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REFLECTION GRID ABOUT THE PARTICIPATIVE PROCESS IN ACTION-RESEARCH Please, cross the section considering the degree of agreement of the group with each expression. If

possible, please, specify the objective elements or circumstances (evidences) that you have considered in your valuation.

(5 means “we totally agree”, 1 means “we totally disagree”).

Pillar 1. Mobilization of the territorial actors and resources.

Objective 1.a. Investigation of the target territory’s actors and resources.

Mean 1.a.1: Compilation and analysis of existing documents and data (scientific and technical, political, legal, etc.) on the target problems. 1 2 3 4 5

Aspects in which valuation is

based

The documentation used to define the project of action-research is sufficient (considering quantity and quality) to give a global initial vision of the target problems. It is based on coherent theoretical grounds.

The documentation used to define the project of action-research is sufficient to give an historical perspective of the target problems.

The diversity and quality of documentary sources allows the main dimensions of the object of action-research to be considered, and to build a theoretical framework of the links between them.

The documentation has been jointly analyzed by all the project promoter team.

Content

• It is not an instrument for quantitative but rather for qualitative analysis.

• A the second element of the template is another box, arranged by pillars identifying main strengths and weaknesses of the project.

• Once the self-assessment has been completed, the team may decide to submit the results of the opinion to an external committee .

• The idea is that the instrument can feed the reflexive process of the action research teams on their own practice.

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CONCLUSIONS and AUTOASSESMENTPillar 1. Mobilization of the territorial actors and resources.

Main Strengths(Name those aspects of the project which have the better performance)

Positive effects of these

Strengths

Describe

Main Weakness

(Name those aspects of the project which have the worst performance)

Negative effects of these

Weakness

Describe

Improvement Actions

Objective Responsible DeadlineResult

indicators

Name Action 1. 1

Name Action 1. 2

Name Action 1. 3

….

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QL enhances EFQM main principles

• Direction towards results. • Direction to the “client”. • Leadership. • Management by processes. • Development and implication of people. • Continuous process of learning and improvement. • Development of alliances. • Social responsibility of the organization.

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Dr. Blanca Miedes UgarteAssociated Professor of Applied Economy

Observatorio Local de Empleowww.ole.uhu.es

Universidad de Huelva (Spain)miedes@uhu.es

Research-Action Line “Governance” European Network of Territorial Intelligence

www.territorial-intelligence.eu

CaENTI quality letter on action-researchWP5-CAENTI discussion

Gracias

Nantes 2010 22

QualityLife

SocialInnovation

Dissemination

Info-com: new cultural models

Education, new culture, work

GouvernanceSystems

WorkActivities

Job Prospects

Nantes 2010 23

QualityLife

SocialInnovation

Dissemination

Education, new culture, work

TerritorialGouvernance

JobSystems

Workconcept

Info-com: new cultural models

Job Prospects