Building University Capabilities to Respond to Climate Change Through Participatory Action Research: Towards a Comparative Analytical Framework

• DOI: 10.1080/19452829.2021.2014427
• Publication Date: 2022-01-06T13:09:45Z
• Authors: Charlotte Nussey; Alexandre Apsan F...; Rosiana Lagi; Janaína Mazutti; Jackline Nyerere
• Keywords: 360; participatory action research (PAR); climate change; higher education; climate justice; 01 natural sciences; Institutional capabilities; universities; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

Article ; This paper aims to explore how the principles of participatory action research (PAR) articulate with questions of climate justice. Drawing on three qualitative case studies in Brazil, Fiji and Kenya, the paper explores university institutional capabilities, asking how the principles of mobilising PAR to support transformative outcomes can further climate justice. The paper argues that for participatory action research to become a pathway to build universities’ capabilities, key considerations are needed. PAR needs to: (a) move beyond change in individual behaviour to respond to climate change and affect institutional norms, procedures and practices; (b) recognise and partner with marginalised groups whose voice and experiences are at the periphery of climate debate, enabling reciprocal flows of impact and knowledge between universities and wider societies; and (c) foster “relationships of equivalence” with actors within as well as outside university to influence university governance and wider climate-related policymaking processes ; UK Research and Innovation [grant number ES/T005130/1].