Our Mission
The Public Science Project is dedicated to the advancement of participatory action research as a strategy for a more just world. With a deep commitment to democratizing the systematic production of knowledge, we collaborate with communities to design research that examines the impact of policy and structural injustice. Building on the legacy of participatory and activist research carved out by WEB Du Bois, Kurt Lewin, Claire Selltiz, Margot Wormser, Ignacio Martín-Baró, and Orlando Fals Borda, we have contributed to the field for more than a decade – expanding notions of expertise, creating alliances across communities, and producing critical knowledge for individuals, communities, and the academy.
We believe social science can play an important role in the struggle for social justice. Participatory Action Research (PAR) provides a critical framework for making science – systematic inquiry and analysis – a public enterprise. Allied with feminist, critical race, and indigenous theory, PAR is an approach to research that values the significant knowledge people hold about their lives and experiences. PAR positions those most intimately impacted by research as leaders in shaping research questions, framing interpretations, and designing meaningful research products and actions. With these commitments, The Public Science Project collaborates with academics, community organizations, schools, prisons, and public institutions to design, conduct, and support research and practice aimed at interrupting injustice.
