Multi-site action research Conceptualizing a variety of multi-organization practice

Classical action research within single organizations has become a well established and differentiated approach since its inception more than six decades ago. More recently, many have built on the foundational principles of action research to develop and implement larger-scale, multi-organization, action research approaches. Multi-organization action research has largely taken the form of coalition-based processes, where diverse stake-holders have come together to explore issues of mutual concern through a centralized action research process. Less frequently, multi-organization initiatives have implemented distinct action research processes, in a coordinated manner, within each of several involved organizations. This article refers to the later variety as multi-site action research (MSAR). Building on previous work, a conceptual framework for MSAR is developed.