Involving community members, court participants in research

What is Participatory Action Research (PAR)?

Participatory action research (PAR) is one type of community engagement and a powerful tool for improving court services. Like traditional research methods, PAR engages court participants, staff, legal professionals, and community members by gathering direct feedback on their experiences with the court and potential areas for improvement. However, PAR goes further by involving these groups throughout the research process itself. Engagement activities include designing the research plan, gathering the needed information, and using the findings to make effective changes. That is, PAR provides a framework for impacted people to bring their perspectives and experiences to the entire process of gathering the insights that the court needs and acting on those insights.

How does it work?

PAR is an iterative process to gather information, develop solutions, act, and reflect on the impact and next line of research.
Community members, trained researchers, and court partners collaborate as co-researchers to define a problem, conduct research, analyze findings, and implement solutions.

Why is it important?

PAR provides a framework for impacted people to bring their perspectives and insights to applied court research. As a result, research questions are relevant, data collection is culturally sensitive and grounded in local experiences, and findings are actionable.

It helps courts to:

1) Identify the issues that matter most to the community served by the court

2) Align improvement efforts with the issues and solutions identified by the community.

Challenges & considerations

Building trusting relationships and participation takes time and commitment.
Time and resources are needed to educate the group about the research process, the courts, and the community context and to create a common understanding about what is feasible.
Clear expectations around the engagement activities and decision making should be set for successful implementation. This includes task and communication plans and discussions about how the group will resolve disagreements, acknowledge contributions, and compensate community partners.
As an iterative process, PAR may uncover new issues to explore or identify new avenues for the work. Be prepared to make needed adjustments to meet the overarching goals and objectives.

Read the full brief

Benefits of community engagement

Promotes transparency

The public benefits from greater transparency around court processes and understanding of the community and court system strengths and challenges.

Increased relevance

Research findings and solutions are more likely to be relevant and impactful when stakeholders are involved. By focusing on what is important to the community, court participant satisfaction can be more meaningfully improved.

Improved trust & legitimacy

A PAR approach helps the court demonstrate a commitment to serving the public. When court participants and stakeholders are heard and valued in the court research and improvement process, it can build public trust and confidence in the court system.

Empowerment & capacity building

Involving stakeholders in the research process empowers them to advocate for their needs and contribute to improvements in their community. At the same time, it increases the court's capacity to conduct research and respond to the community based on the local conditions and resources.

Greater sustainability

Participatory approaches can foster ownership and commitment to seeing the research through to actionable outcomes and continued engagement in the improvement process. Greater buy-in and agreement on the solutions leads to more sustainable changes.

A roadmap for participatory action research

- Work with existing community partners to identify community needs or concerns, goals for research or information gathering, and desired participation from the community. Key early collaborators may include:
  
  Court-based or external researchers
  
  Public entities (government agencies, schools/universities)
  
  Nonprofits (service providers, advocacy groups, religious institutions)
  
  Private businesses (law firms, business owners)
- Clearly state the issue or challenge that can best be addressed through a PAR approach.
- Establish the kind of change(s) within the court or community that will be informed by the findings.
- Learn about the communities and populations most affected by the court issue or challenge.
- Identify who is currently involved and who should be involved, especially people impacted by the issue (e.g., court participants, families, community residents).
- Create connections with needed partners.
Be prepared to describe the scope of the work:
- Project objectives and research questions
- Background and context for the research
- Project structure: funding/support sources, leadership and oversight, timeline, key activities, budget, and anticipated outcomes
- Define project objectives and the anticipated roles and expectations for court and community partners, including for those who are not yet involved.
- Develop ethical outreach strategies to request community member participation in the project.
- Consider necessary approvals, agreements, and compensation methods for engaging community contributors.
- Conduct planned outreach and modify approach, as needed, to achieve desired participation.
Host meetings, workshops, or discussions to:
- Build trust and a shared understanding of the work.
- Establish a common language and consensus on priorities.
- Refine the issue to be addressed and finalize the research objectives and scope.
- Clarify roles, skill sets, availability, and contributions.
- Identify training needs and other resources (e.g., research or technical assistance, document sharing tools, communication mechanisms).
- Create communication, decision-making, and governance structures.
- List the final research questions and context for the research, including how the priorities for the work were established.
- Describe the research methodology.
- Outline the timeline and activities to be completed, including how information will be collected and analyzed and how the findings will be produced.
- Consider how the findings will be shared with the community and broader audiences (e.g., reports, infographics, town halls).
- Use established communication mechanisms to keep team members involved.
- Regularly check in on project status, upcoming activities, and member responsibilities.
- Recognize successes and setbacks and document any needed changes to the project plan.
- Create structured opportunities to:
  
  Reflect on the process and findings.
  
  Gather feedback from partners and participants about the process.
  
  Make adjustments to the research or action strategies as needed.
  
  Sustain momentum for continued collaboration or future research.

Group of diverse professionals collaborating around a workspace table

Engaging in research planning

After completing a formal agreement with community partners, document these items to get your research plan underway:

1. Describe the research objectives.
2. Identify key measures.
3. Explain how information will be collected.
4. Decide on an analysis approach.
5. Plan for research dissemination.
6. Document considerations for the research project.

Download the planning guide

Improving services through research & community engagement

With decades of experience in research and court administration, our team can help you discover the power of participatory action research.

Get started today

Explore more

Guide

Ensuring justice for all

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has developed a comprehensive Justice for All guide, funded by various foundations, to assist courts, lawyers, and community groups in improving civil justice accessibility and addressing unmet needs, aided by expert input and feedback gathered since its launch in 2016.

Report

Involving community members, court participants in research

What is Participatory Action Research (PAR)?

How does it work?

Why is it important?