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PAR Practitioners Program – Autumn 2024 – Now open for subscription!

The PAR Practitioners Program 2019

*Klik hier voor Nederlands*

We are already entering the seventh year of the PAR Practitioners Program, and we are happy to organize the PPP Autumn Edition 2024!

Do you want to enable people to tackle complex issues together? Or do you want to make more impact from your own work in tackling a social problem? Then join us!

 

How do we create ownership?

Generally, in our work we often wonder how we can get people on board and get them to participate in ‘our project’. Even when we think we have the perfect solution for something, we are disappointed by the lack of energy in society to take advantage of it or join us. The point is that people usually don’t want to participate in someone else’s project. They especially want to participate in their own project! So how do we create a sense of ownership over the project? How can we get people’s full commitment to start the movement that will enable them (and us) to achieve their ideal?

What is Participatory Action Research?

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is an approach that enables groups of people to co-research a complex situation and initiate the desired positive change together. In the PAR Practitioners Program you will learn how you can facilitate this social movement through PAR!

The PAR practitioners of SevenSenses

SevenSenses is a growing network of Participatory Action Researchers – or PAR practitioners around the world. We carry out PAR projects in all kinds of different settings on various complex problems. SevenSenses’ PAR practitioners love their work because of the impact it has on communities and organizations, how it empowers people and simply because it makes people more confident, cooperative and happy! Our PAR Practitioners have all been trained by SevenSenses in the PAR methodology, many of them through the PAR Practitioners Program!

Free Handbook Participatory Action Research!

Register now for the Autumn edition of the PPP 2024 and receive the Participative Action Research handbook authored by Madelon Eelderink, PAR trainer and founder of SevenSenses, for free at the start!

PAO boek 2e druk

Learning goals

In this PPP you will learn:

  • The basic principles and ethics of Participatory Action Research;
  • How to set up a PAR design;
  • Skills in various PAR methods;
  • Community psychology and factors driving motivation to act together;
  • How to facilitate the co-creation of innovative solutions between local stakeholders;
  • About power dynamics and how they influence the co-creation and realization of initiatives;
  • Communication and social skills and your role as a PAR practitioner;
  • How to monitor, evaluate and expand jointly created initiatives;
  • How you inspire many people with what you achieve with PAR!
Wilma van der Vlegel

Wilma van der Vlegel, participant of the PPP 2019, Training & Internship Track:

“The PPP program teaches you new research skills that you are not actually offered in other programmes. You learn to think and look from other perspectives, in particular the citizen’s perspective, and to adapt flexibly to your co-researcher. The training teaches you to use creative methods when collecting and analyzing the data, which can lead to surprising solutions.”

Program Tracks & Certificates

The PPP consists of a training program in which you have a training day every two weeks for a duration of 3 months. Following this, there is an internship period starting from June 2024. As a PPP participant, you can choose between a Training Track – training only – or the Training & Internship Track – training followed by an internship. Upon completing the Training Track, you will receive a ‘Certificate of Participation.’ If you successfully finish the Training & Internship Track and demonstrate acquisition of all PAO (Participatory Action Research) competencies during your internship, you will be awarded the ‘Certificate of Achievement.’ This designation certifies you as a SevenSenses certified, independent Participatory Action Researcher, enabling you to work as a freelancer on paid SevenSenses projects, both in the Netherlands and/or internationally!

Training Track

During the Training Track, you will delve into PAO principles, the PAO Cycle, PAO methods, and the co-creation of solutions with communities. The focus will be on sustainable impact and everything associated with the PAO process. Throughout these 3 months, you will have full-day training sessions every other Monday. Following the course, you will be equipped with the skills necessary to conduct high-quality Participatory Action Research that can be applied in various settings! If you opt for the Training Track, completing assignments is optional.

Training & Internship Track

If you choose the Training & Internship Track, you follow the training of the Training Track and then do an internship at an organization or community, where you will apply PAR! You choose both the PAR subject and the organization involved. Another option is to participate in one of the SevenSenses internships, if available at that time. In a personal meeting beforehand, we will discuss what suits you best and go through the various options. During the internship period you will have online supervision with the group a total of seven times (every 2 weeks), on Monday evening.

The supporting assignments of the PPP are set up in such a way that it helps you to gain experience with what you have learned during the training courses of the PPP and – for Training & Internship participants – in preparation for your internship.

Read more about the internship

The team of PAR trainers

Denise Filippo
Denise Filippo
Wilma van der Vlegel
Wilma van der Vlegel
Geertjan Aleven
Geertjan Aleven
Madelon Eelderink, founder and general director of SevenSenses, speaking at FM-dag 2020
Madelon Eelderink, main trainer
Wout Peters

Wout Petersparticipant of the PPP 2020, Training & Internship Track:

 

“The PPP program and Madelon’s Participatory Action Research handbook crossed my life path at the right time. For the Master Healthy Aging Professional I was looking for answers to difficult questions within my innovation ‘From Disease and Care to Health and Behavior’. The answers turned out to be packed in PAR and with the help of Madelon’s knowledge and enthusiasm I was able to find them within the PPP Thanks to the PPP I started working as a real Change Agent with Participative Action Research and thus gained my own job.”


The facts

Start Training Track: September 2024

Training days (Training Track): Every other Monday from 10:30 AM to 6:00 PM on the following dates: 23-09, 7-10, 21-10, 4-11, 18-11, 2-12 and 16-12

Start Internship (Training & Internship Track):

Guidance Sessions during the internship: Seven sessions, online guidance.

Language: Dutch.

Self-study: reading and doing assignments (4 hours per week).

Literature: Handbook Participatory Action Research. Building a better world together (second edition). Written by SevenSenses founder Madelon Eelderink

Trainers: Sandra Niezink, Denise Filippo, Wout Peters

Location: Arnhem

Difficulty level: HBO+ level of thinking

Maximum number of participants: maximum 12 per group (full is full). The training will continue with a minimum of 7 registrations.

 

Prices:

  • Training Track: € 3420 ex VAT.
  • Training & Internship Track: € 3950 ex VAT.

 

Registration deadline: 15th of August 2024. Register by sending an email to: secretariaat@seven-senses.nu. Describe in the e-mail:
1. Track of your choice: Training Track or Training & Internship Track;
2. Whether you subscribe via your organization, as independent professional (ZZP) or as student
3. Your contact details (among which the address for your invoice),
4. If you choose Training & Internship Track: add a resume and short motivation.

After your registration you will receive the invoice and studyguide from our secretary Milica. The invoice must be paid no later than September 1st 2024. Is this not possible? Let us know in time! Payment in installments is possible.

Modules of the Training Track

1. PAR basic principles & PAR cycle – why do we do what we do and what steps do we take?

2. PAR Methods for Orientation and System Exploration – how do we collect perspectives?

3. Analysis in PAR – how do we make ‘cheese’ of our data?

4. PAR design & Interviewing in PAR – 1) how do you design your own PAO and 2) how do you get people’s true story?

5. Ethics and social competence in PAR – how do we deal with ethical dilemmas and what social skills are involved in a PAR?

6. PAR Methods for Insights Sharing & Solution Identification – how do we let solutions emerge from a group, and how do we deal with group- and system dynamics?

7. (Intercultural) communication in PAR – how do we communicate in PAR and how do we deal with different (cultural) norms and values?

8. PAO methods for Action Plan co-creation – how do we facilitate groups in building appropriate action plans?

9. Formalization and transfer – how do we allow ownership to flourish and create sustainable impact?

10. Monitoring and Evaluation – how do we retain the energy and how do you complete a PAR?

Friederike Ertmer

Friederike Ertmer, deelnemer of the PPP 2018, Training & Internship Track

“I really enjoyed the PAR course given by Madelon! She knows what she is talking about and lets you discover what PAR means with great pleasure, reflection on yourself and your ideas about it, guidance and practice. I learned so much in a short time and was able to put it into practice right away on my first project.”

Are there still questions?

Check out our FAQ! Is your question not answered there? Please contact Denise – denise.filippo@seven-senses.nu, 0640828388.

Hope to see you soon at the SevenSenses Action Research Academy!

Pictures of former PPP editions

Pictures of PAR in action during PPP internships