Lucas, K orcid.org/0000-0002-4009-7017, Hamilton, J and Mayne, R (2016) Building capacity through action research: reflections on working with low carbon communities in the United Kingdom. Local Environment, 22 (6). pp. 725-745. ISSN 1354-9839
Abstract
This paper describes a four-year programme of “action research” (AR) undertaken with six communities in the UK, referred to as the Evaluating Low-Carbon Communities (EVALOC) project. The research combined a programme of research events with phased household-level monitoring of energy and carbon-reduction interventions. The carbon-reduction interventions were funded by the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change prior to the onset of the research. AR has recently been adopted within the context of environmental behaviour change programmes in the UK, with a number of methodological challenges. The EVALOC project’s challenges included developing a collaborative research design; building reciprocity between the researchers and research participants; dealing with biases and burdens in the research process; ensuring analytical rigour in the interpretation of the primarily qualitative evidence and dealing with the long-term and process-driven outcomes that arise from such interactions. This paper explores and discusses the challenges of AR in relation to selected research outcomes from EVALOC. We conclude by suggesting that the AR approach has helped to build capacity in the participating low-carbon communities (LCCs), through supporting the design, delivery and evaluation of their energy and carbon-reduction activities.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Local Environment on 25 November 2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13549839.2016.1259294. |
Keywords: | energy behaviours; communities; action research; methodologies; focus groups; social learning |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > Institute for Transport Studies (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ESRC RES-628-25-0012 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 10 Nov 2016 12:49 |
Last Modified: | 25 Nov 2017 01:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/13549839.2016.1259294 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:107226 |