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Action Research

CLARISSA used Systemic Action Research to identify, evidence, and test innovative actions to tackle the drivers of the worst forms of child labour (WFCL) in the leather supply chain in Bangladesh and the adult entertainment sector in Nepal.

Read a synthesis of the action research process by Danny Burns and Marina Apgar.

Read the findings of the realist evaluation of action research by Mieke Snijder et al.

At the heart of the programme were 25 Action Research groups (ARGs) of either working children or small business owners who developed their own evidence on specific system dynamics that hold the problem of WFCL in place. Either via participatory causal analysis of 400 life stories by children, or through other participatory methods used to map system dynamics and understand the challenges of small informal businesses, the ARGs used the systemic understanding to identify leverage points to focus their energy.

Over 12 – 18 months, groups were facilitated through iterative cycles of evidence gathering, development of theories of change, planning and taking actions, and reflecting and consolidating learning from actions. As part of the programme’s monitoring and evaluation system, all group processes were documented in detail, creating the programme’s action research data stream. In the interest of making the process recoverable, each of the group processes was then written up by the facilitators, providing rich and compelling stories of the successes, challenges and deep learning of these groups. We invite others interested in taking such a programmatic approach to read these detailed accounts from the ARGs in the links below written by those closest to the process.

NepalBangladesh
Children’s ARGsBusiness owners’ ARGsChildren’s ARGsBusiness owners’ ARGs
Alcohol and drug addiction – ARG 1Khaja gar business owners – ARG 10Workplace safety – ARG 1Relationship between formal and informal enterprises in the leather sector – ARG 4
Homelessness and negative peer influence – ARG 2Dohori and dance bar business owners – ARG 11Workplace safety – ARG 2Health for workers – ARG 5
Birth certificates – ARG 3Massage and spa business owners – ARG 12Inability to bear education costs – ARG 3Relationship building among employers for collective action – ARG 6
Failed non-governmental organisation training – ARG 4Financial management (debt and loans) – ARG 7
Mental health and wellbeing – ARG 5School drop-out – ARG 8
Economic conditions of the family – ARG 6Journey to work – ARG 9
Weak family relations – ARG 7My work, my environment – ARG 10
Abuse and harassment in AES – ARG 8Norms around idleness – ARG 11
Journey to work and home – ARG 9Child marriage (Hazaribagh) – ARG 12
Family negligence and violence – ARG 13

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