Redefining beginnings and endings

Where does research begin and end? Defining the research problem is at least half of the solution and yet often we work with a problem that is ill thought out or muddled – which hasn’t been given the attention it deserves. Sometimes we accept it from our client with only perfunctory questioning. This may be fine for fairly simple problems, but for larger or complex ones, it can be problematic. And more and more projects are complex, because we live in increasingly complex world.

Work with clients on problem definition can – perhaps should – be part of the research process. Process consultancy – an established approach within management consultancy, developed by Edgar Schein (1999) – would take this as given, but it is not traditionally part of the researcher role.

Redefine our role as research consultant, however, and it becomes our role. Problem exploration and definition may involve facilitating workshops with clients including a relevant mix of stakeholders from within – and outside – the organisation. It may mean living within the organisation for a while.

From a researcher perspective, this area is fraught. Historically the client defines ‘the problem’. But, from a process consultant perspective, the client ‘often does not know what she is looking for and indeed should not really be expected to know’ (Schein, 1999). A change of expectations and working relationships between clients and researchers is needed before problem definition is widely accepted as a valid research area.

At the end of the project, in the traditional research model, the researcher ‘hands over the findings’ and walks away. To be involved in implementation or even detailed discussion about the implications of research is assumed to undermine the independence of the research. As a result the researcher, by now a repository of knowledge not easily transmitted as ‘findings’, is dismissed and a valuable resource is lost. By contrast, a process consultation model implies working with clients, and other interested parties, to spread and grow the research outcomes within the organisation, so that the research learning can be maximised. This requires a more co-operative working arrangement; greater flexibility, more interaction.

Research as a team effort

The pass the parcel model of research – client defines problem, hands it to researcher, who does the research, passes the findings back to the client, who decides on how to implement the findings – is dead. It is inefficient and limiting. Bringing different parties together, in creative hubs, networks and workshops is more likely to produce the learning we need in the age of ideas.

At a basic level, emergent inquiry is about forming more and stronger connections and networks which increase the chances of useful and ongoing learning.
 

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