Unpacking Power in Local Politics: A Participatory Action Research Project

Movement Matters is convening six local organizing groups and their community leaders to investigate key players in local DC politics; research who influences these decision-makers, how they wield this influence, and its impact on efforts to create change. ​

In our engagement with local organizers over the last year, two key themes emerged: 

​We all still struggle with a sophisticated understanding of what moves local decision-makers. This is especially true on the Executive/Mayoral side. Our political analysis is limited when it comes to understanding who has influence over our elected officials, why, and how they wield it. This limitation hinders our ability to alter power dynamics in the long term.

​Groups would like more opportunities, knowledge, and skills in involving community members in Participatory Action Research (PAR) to make sure that our campaigns are grounded in solid information that is driven by the real life experiences of our members.

In an effort to address both of these themes, we have developed Movement Matters' newest initiative, Unpacking Power in Local Politics: A Participatory Action Research Project. ​
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PAR Project Outline

MM DC PAR Infographic

The PAR project participants (6 local organizations, 1 staff organizer and 2 community leaders) will meet on a monthly basis for 7 months, beginning late Fall of 2019. In between meetings, participants will be tasked with collecting and analyzing information based on the discussions and plans made at the monthly meetings. We anticipate a time commitment to this project of approximately 8 hours per month per participating organization. Community leaders will be offered a stipend for being part of this project; MM will provide funding for one stipend per group while participating organizations will contribute the second stipend.

Movement Matters will facilitate and guide the entire process and project, the specifics will be directed by participants who will:

• Share and reflect on existing knowledge and assumptions
• Identify key research questions and sources of information
• Collect and interpret data
• Synthesize information into a framework and conclusions
• Apply conclusions to existing work and share results

The project will result in a report that will provide a power analysis of selected officials, with recommendations on how the data and findings can inform future campaigns. MM will also document the PAR process the group used to uncover information, and share it as a roadmap for future Participatory Action Research efforts by local organizations. Lastly, the project will also provide on the ground experience for community members and staff in conducting a local PAR process.
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For more information on our Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach and projects
​visit our Action Research and Reports webpage or connect with us.​

Movement Matters is based in Washington, DC.
We work regionally with various communities and with national partners.

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