Collaborative Research with Social Movements

What does good practice look like in research collaborations with social movements? Collaborative research with social movements covers a wide range of organisational realities, from formal partnerships between research institutions and social movement organisations, via individual social movement participants carrying out PhD research with supportive supervisors, to individual academics taking part in movement-led research projects. The motivations for collaborative research are equally varied – both from the movement side and from the academic side. Papers in this session will present specific examples of research projects, or models of research collaboration, in relation to the purposes of collaborative research with movements. They will explore the challenges as well as the positive results. The discussion will seek to highlight what can be learnt in terms of key principles and the kinds of relationship involved – while being clear about the importance of both movement and academic context in terms of what is actually useful and meaningful.