Publications

Summary

For the past decade, there has been a growing interest in a more inclusive approach to research participants, no longer viewing them solely as objects of study but as integral contributors to the entire research process (Tremblay & Demers, 2018). Collaborative or participatory research aims to bring together researchers and practitioners to create a space for co-constructing knowledge that integrates theoretical and practical knowledge (Audoux & Gillet, 2015). While collaborative research has associated benefits, including transformative effects, this approach also raises several questions (Plenchette, 2020).

Our presentation delves into these advantages and questions, using our experiences as both researchers and practitioners as a starting point. We offer an autoethnography of an ongoing collaborative research project. This project, conducted in collaboration with researchers from Canadian universities and the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française, aims to develop an accountability tool for artists based on the impact framework of the Canada Council for the Arts. We choose this research project as a unique case study where researchers and practitioners will explore their personal experiences and involvement in the project.

The benefits identified several months after the project’s launch and the challenges or questions that emerged from this collaboration will be presented. We will address issues such as the scientific nature of collaborative research, the role of each individual, research processes, types of results, and the scope of these results. This presentation is part of a broader reflection on the role of research in social sciences for different scientific and practical communities: should research serve the construction of knowledge or enable communities to develop? Can or should research achieve both of these objectives? Our experience offers insights into these questions.