An Introduction to the Action Research Issues Association

WHAT IS THE ACTION RESEARCH ISSUES ASSOCIATION (ARIA)??

ARIA is a small group of people who are particularly committed to doing and popularising social research which is "driven" by the interests of those whose problems or situations give rise to the research questions. We have organised around the following set of purposes:

1. To develop, support, promote and popularise a participatory action or critical theoretical research methodology; that is, a research methodology which assists groups to develop their own action-oriented understanding in order to overcome situations identified by them as problematic (e. g. situations which are a result of disadvantage, discrimination or disability).

2. To apply such a research methodology in order to:
   • assist users and providers of field services to make better sense of community needs and the services required to meet these needs;
   • maximise people's control over their own services, their participation in decision-making, and their own selfmanagement.

3. To support the development of participatory research methods that are self-conscious, reflexive, rigorous, comprehensive and sceptical.

As those who are most likely to ask the critical questions underpinning action research are those who find current realities problematic, then the groups our research is practiced by, with and for are more likely to be those who are being most hurt by current social arrangements. Hence, ARIA identifies its primary critical reference groups as being those people who suffer disadvantage, injustice, discrimination, disability and so on - the most outstanding examples being those of us suffering class, gender and racial forms of injustice and those whose oppression stems from physical and mental disability and illhealth.

MEMBERSHIP

ARIA is a small, active co-operative of around 30 members with a wide variety of interests and involvement in action research. It is a community-of-interest with a strong value-driven and intellectual agenda, and its approach is at the forefront of the current change in social science paradigms. It differs from much conventional academic, private and even some public research agencies.

Members of ARIA meeting on 6th March 2002

To become a member it is necessary to support the objectives of the Association, as outlined above, and be nominated by four existing members and then accepted by a General Meeting of the Association. You should approach a current member for further information. We are interested in a scale of organisation where we can know and be known, and in which we do not lose touch with each other and what is going on. We are not keen to generate a large organisation where there is a great division of labour. To these ends (as well as reflecting our philosophy of science), we have structured ARIA so that all members are committee of management members, as are all workers whether paid or unpaid. The Association also attempts to maintain a balance of social researchers, practitioners, academics, and members with consumer/ community interests.

Reflecting the importance of our goals, membership fees are relatively substantial (also in order to maintain a 'home' at ROSS House). However `substantial' is defined by individual members to be relative to their own current means. As a guide, at present, $20 covers meetings, mail and other basic expenditure and a further $30 contributes to pay for the members' workstation at Ross House. Members are fairly active - coming to most monthly meetings to discuss and present their work, attending annual Association activities and the Action Research Issues Centre's Annual Planning Day, contributing labour or 'in kind' to the running of the Centre and the Association (chairing and minutes' production are rotated tasks), and making some active use of the Centre.

For a lesser degree a new Victorian network of Action Researchers is about to be proposed.

MANAGEMENT

ARIA is constituted and incorporated under the requirements of the Associations Act 1981. To maximise participatory self-management, the membership comprises the Committee of Management, and hence nomination to membership comprises nomination to the management body. The Committee of Management/Association meets monthly over dinner to advance the objectives of the Association: to further action research by discussing action research and issues arising, to present our work and ideas to each other for discussion and contributions, and monitor the work of the Projects Sub Committee and Ethics Sub Committee. Once a year the Projects Sub Committee, which oversees the work of the Action Research Issues Centre, holds an annual planning workshop attended by the full membership.

A WORKING BASE FOR THE ASSOCIATION: THE ACTION RESEARCH ISSUES CENTRE

On a voluntary basis, ARIA decided it would be good to provide a 'home' for activities devoted specifically to ARIA objectives that we are unable to carry out in our other jobs or other communities-of-interest. Hence, the Action Research Issues Centre (ARIC) has been established as a not-for-profit project of the Action Research Issues Association (ARIA). Whoever has the ability (and energy and time) to take on such projects comprises the ARIA Projects Sub Committee, which, as a workers' collective, runs the Centre (ARIC).

This Centre is housed in Ross House in recognition of the kinds of groups with whom our interests lie, although, without core or administration funding, the Centre does not operate as a service except to the extent that members can offer their free time for this. Those who work from the Centre are responsible for seeking out and developing projects consistent with ARIA objectives. Some projects running from ARIC are now receiving some modest funding while others are unpaid. In each case, each worker, in conjunction with the relevant critical reference group, is responsible for carrying out, within budget, the particular project.