The renowned anthropologist Arjun Appadurai has argued that how equitable the results of globalisation are will depend partly on academic enquiry, calling for an understanding of “globalization from below.” The Citizenship DRC has learned that to rise to this challenge requires not only a new theoretical lens, but an entirely new way of working that balances the academic power between northern and the southern institutions and that can accommodate local, national and international perspectives. Lessons from the Citizenship DRC’s own internal efforts at this have been documented for other global research endeavours.

With its unique focus on situations where social injustice, human rights abuses and inequality are the policy problem, the Citizenship DRC has also taken a unique approach to influence: using the research as an opportunity to create collaborative and participatory spaces for engagement for a diverse range of stakeholders at multiple levels. Where evidence alone is not enough, the Citizenship DRC has insights for how to translate knowledge into progressive change.

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  Action Research against Violence: An Experience from Southern Mexico

  Cortez Ruiz, C

  IDS Bulletin, 40(3)
  This article reflects on an experience of action research aimed at improving the understanding of <br/>the problem of...
  This article reflects on an experience of action research aimed at improving the understanding of
  the problem of chronic violence, raising awareness of its causes and implications, and promoting initiatives that seek to combat it through the assertion of rights. The research was developed as part of a university diploma taught in two Mexican states where chronic violence is an issue. The diploma aimed to build and support networks that promote cooperation between social actors. The action research was designed to offer a shared space in which diploma participants could develop joint initiatives aimed at raising awareness of the nature and dimensions of violence, and to confront the problem. Through building trust, the experience resulted in the creation of new approaches to the complex problem of violence, and new ways to understand it.
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  Bringing the Reality to Policymakers

  Moncrieffe, J

  IDS Bulletin, 40(3)
  Often, researchers assume that disseminating findings to policymakers is straightforward and that policymakers have t...
  Often, researchers assume that disseminating findings to policymakers is straightforward and that policymakers have the best interests of the researched communities at heart. However, this is not necessarily the case in reality. It is useful to remember that while an organisation’s principles and objectives can influence attitudes and commitments, policymakers are individuals with multidimensional identities, which are shaped by their social contexts. They are not immune to societies’ prejudices. Policymakers can replicate and entrench values that are inimical to those their organisations formally endorse. ‘Bringing the reality to policymakers’ is rarely a facile and predictable enterprise; instead, it requires that researchers seek to understand policymakers’ social contexts and perspectives, the power dynamics within organisations, and
  among policymakers and the individuals and communities they are meant to serve.
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  Constructing Transnational Action Research Networks: Observations a...

  Brown, LD & Gaventa J

  IDS Working Paper 302
  Many contemporary issues of development and governance are complex beyond the capacities of single institutions or co...
  Many contemporary issues of development and governance are complex beyond the capacities of single institutions or countries. As a result, in recent years we have seen growing attention paid to the importance of networks – ranging from advocacy networks to multi-stakeholder partnerships – for the solution of development problems. This paper is particularly interested in the construction of transnational action research networks that effectively bridge the differences that separate the local from the global, practice from research, North from South, and many relevant disciplines from one another. Such networks must span inequalities in power and resources as well as differences in cultural and intellectual perspectives. Using a unique ‘insider-outsider’ perspective, the paper examines the emergence (during the period 2000–2005) of the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability, a network of seven partners – from the UK, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, South Africa, Mexico and Brazil – concerned with research, capacity building and policy influence on these issues
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  Creating Spaces for Engagement: Understanding Research and Social C...

  Wheeler, J

  Citizenship DRC Working Paper
  Given the growing emphasis on the links between research and policy, it is crucial to examine how these connections o...
  Given the growing emphasis on the links between research and policy, it is crucial to examine how these connections occur. This report draws on the experiences from over six years of an international research network – the Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability(Citizenship DRC)– to understand research and social change.