Action Research Yes/And

Yes/And Action Research podcast's Dr. Tomás Boatwright is joined this time by Dr. Hilary Bradbury, founder and Editor in Chief at ARJ. They discuss Hilary's recent article on a Politics of Love in action research which was selected for the special issue on mindset transformations. More details at the following blog which includes the link to the open access article: https://actionresearchplus.com/...

Andrea Rodericks is an action research practitioner in the philanthropy and international aid ecosystems. Andrea's work is to deepen learning and shape conditions for more hopeful, equitable and regenerative futures. Blog: https://actionresearchplus.com/andrea-rodericks-is-an-action-research-practitioner-in-the-philanthropy-and-international-aid-ecosystems/

What happens when participatory, relational, and action‑oriented inquiry meets the institutional architecture of the PhD: tight timelines, individual authorship, and demands for methodological certainty? Blog post: https://actionresearchplus.com/reimagining-the-phd-in-the-thick-of-it-by-raymond-hyma-javier-garcia-martinez/

When we think about Appreciative Inquiry (Ai), we often picture positive stories, uplifting conversations, and a focus on what’s going well. But during an Ai initiative I facilitated in a Dutch asylum center for unaccompanied refugee children — where I work in a dual role as social worker and insider action researcher — I learned that team and center development also requires engaging with “shadow...

Conversation with Jacqueline van Paassen and Bruno Pešec who help answer the question, how do we become more skilled research-practitioners? What does “more skilled” even mean in the context of action research. BLOG https://actionresearchplus.com/on-becoming-more-reflexive-research-practitioners-in-action/

Dr. Julia Kukard is based in So Africa and has over 30 years of experience in learning and development in organisations worldwide. She is trained as a coach, psychotherapist and facilitator and prefers to work within the Existential paradigm. Her doctoral research focused on leadership stuckness and how leaders can respond more fluidly and thoughtfully to the world. Out of this she transformed int...

Terence Sexton and Joan Walton published their research in ARJ as part of the 2026 special issue on Mindset Transformations. Terence speaks with AR+ podcast host, Tomas Boatwright about their work. Read more at the Blog, which also has access to the full published article: https://actionresearchplus.com/quiet-yet-transformative-leadership-by-sexton-and-walton/

David Wrathall talks with Hilary about Journeying Into Right Relations through use of psilocybin as detailed in Wrathall et al. 2026 in ARJ

Hilary of AR+ chatted with Dr. Lindsay Hayhurst about her action research in Nicaragua, which involved using digital tools like GoPros to document the experiences of young women navigating unsafe roads and environmental challenges. They explored how the research addressed both immediate practical needs (such as securing funding and improving infrastructure) while also raising broader questions abo...

In this interview, Hilary and Simon discussed the upcoming special issue of the Action Research Journal on mindset transformations, which Simon guest edited. They explored the themes of awareness, change, and transformation, drawing on personal experiences and examples from the papers in the issue. Simon shared his background and motivations for curating the special issue, emphasizing the importan...

In this Action Research Yes/And podcast, Drs. Chavez, Kennedy and Elsaesser talk with Dr. Tómas Boatwright about youth participatory action research (YPAR). Each is an academically trained scholar practitioner in the United States who thinks a lot about sharing power with the young people who are part of their action research . https://actionresearchplus.com/skillful-vulnerability-practice-by-cait...

This podcast shares the story of Tobias Fehr-Bosshard who helped found the U. St Gallen Transformations Lab in support of Swiss universities’ engagement with sustainability issues. Our conversation focuses on the importance of finding support and developmental friendship meet-ups (including at AR+); of sharing ownership with the many stakeholders in the action research – exercising and encouraging...

Harry Kruiter is co-founder at Public Value Institute (IPW). Before that he was doing participatory action research for Leiden university at the crossroads of social and physical urban redevelopment when based in the Hague (2007-2010). And before that that he was a policymaker. We talk about his work and recently published paper which centers around three important parts: 1) action: helping people...

Skip Bivens speaks with Dr. Markus Frank about his long-term work in Argentina with small-hold farmers in the Patagonia region. Markus situates his work at the convergence of participatory research, agroecological science and social movements. Markus recently published an article in the Action Research Journal, in the Special Issue on social innovation, which focused on his inquiry into the social...

Dr. Anne Mitchell sits down with Action Research Yes/And co-host Skip Bivens to talk about community mental health research in her native Guyana using participatory digital storytelling (DST). Anne's career in psychiatric nursing took her to the UK where she practiced in the NHS for more than four decades. Then she took an academic turn, completing a PhD using storytelling as a core methodology. I...

Hilary Bradbury and Sonia Bussu talk about how youth who suffer mental health problems (anxiety, ADHD etc) successfully got on the radar of policy makers. Using legislative theatre their action research resulted in policy recommendations. It is an example of social innovation that is transformative in that it helps reconfigure relationships between policy makers and youth – and, as importantly, it...

We thought it might be interesting for our listeners to know a bit more about Dr. Felix Bivens – Skip – who is co-host for the AR+ Yes/And podcast with Hilary Bradbury. Here Skip talks with Hilary about what he’s bringing to the second season of the podcast, informed by his own extensive work and experiences in the world of participatory social change. Dr. Felix (Skip) Bivens is a writer and parti...

Simon Divecha, PHD came unexpectedly to live in Europe having lived in Australia/New Zealand and USA. It was a return of sorts as he had grown up in Glasgow of Scottish and Indian heritage. During his travels he became an action researcher with a PhD University Medal to prove it. And, more importantly, many wonderful big-picture systems-change engagements (especially across the health and sustaina...

In this episode of Action Research Yes/And, co-host Skip Bivens interviews Dr. Miren Estensoro, Dr. Patricia Canto, and pre-doctoral researcher Naia Begiristain—a trio of action researchers from the Orkestra Institute of Competitiveness and Regional Development in the Basque region of Spain. Orkestra is a unique collaborative organization at the University of Deusto that tackles regional developme...

In this episode of Action Research Yes/And, co-host Felix ‘Skip’ Bivens speaks with Hungary-based researchers Dr. Violeta Vajda, Kata Kárász, and Gábor Daróczi. This team has just published a multi-year action research analysis of the accessibility of public services for the large Roma population—around 800,000 citizens—which exists in Hungary. In the post-Soviet era, Roma in Hungary have been act...

Hilary Bradbury, founder and curator at AR+, talks with Andrea Rodericks, an independent action researcher active in international development in Asia. Andrea lives between Goa, India and Atlanta, USA. Our focus today is on Andrea's three key questions for navigating partnerships. In this she interrogates purpose (individual and shared), types of spaces (formal meetings and informal) and finally t...

In her address to the 2025 UAE Family and Society Conference, Dr. Hilary Bradbury introduces action research as a social change and transformations methodology that is helping post conventional kinship networks respond to eco-social crisis. She discusses in depth an example of action research that is successfully tackling social cohesion issues in a European Eco Village. That’s a village where peo...

In this episode, Skip speaks with Joanna Wheeler and Katie Collins. Joanna is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of the Western Cape. She is also the founder of Transformative Story. A specialist in participatory storytelling methodologies, Joanna has facilitated over 200 participatory storytelling workshops and courses during the past decade. Katie is a poet and member of the English facu...

In this Yes/And podcast, Hilary Bradbury interviews Dr. Tomas Boatwright. Tomas is a passionate educator and social science researcher. Currently, he is faculty in the Student Development Department at Austin Community College, teaching frameworks for college success. In addition to teaching, Tomas’ research and scholarship is focused on intersectional analysis. His research agenda is concerned wi...

In this interview Hilary Bradbury, curator at AR+ Foundation and editor-in-chief at Action Research journal talks with fellow action researcher Dr. Marina Apgar. Marina is an associate editor at ARJ and works with the Inst for Development Studies at U. Sussex in UK. In the interview we aim to bring alive the quality choicepoints for the action research that we use to develop papers at ARJ. We star...