This research seeks to develop and realise the potential of a ‘collaborative poetics’ methodology, through the activities of an inter-disciplinary working group of: scholars from the social sciences, arts, humanities and business; independent arts practitioners; and representatives from local government and third sector groups. Collaborative poetics was founded in a promising National Centre for Research Methods-funded pilot at McGill University, which used poetry to enrich understandings of discrimination experiences (Johnson et al, 2017 a,b). It is a transformative, participatory, arts-based research method, which draws on expertise from artists and academics to facilitate participatory research. Co-researchers use the approach to explore and illuminate real-world social problems, in ways which are theoretically/methodologically robust, innovative and accessible/meaningful to a wide audience.
Collaborative poetics has generated widespread interest amongst scholars, artists, community organisations and business professionals, and a corresponding demand for materials which enable the method to be applied by individuals from different (academic and non-academic) backgrounds, working with a range of problems, communities, and occupational groups. This research addresses this demand by developing and piloting a flexible, robust and accessible resource pack that transcends multiple divides.
Central to this are three action-oriented, collaborative workshops addressing: knowledge/skill/resource sharing; network development; research design and strategy; material development/testing; and research evaluation. These workshops will be supported by an external pilot of the resources with two divergent groups: families affected by substance abuse issues (Young Oasis) and professional executive developers collaborating as a community interest group (Mindfulness, Integrated Works!).
The research aims to:
Produce resource packs which enable collaborative poetics to be applied effectively, disseminating these freely/widely
Identify the potential transferability of collaborative poetics into new business and community contexts
Gain insights into effective collaborative working across wide-ranging disciplines, fields and sectors