Enhancing sustainability of university-based outreach activities through participatory action research: the case of Sokoine University of Agriculture

Abstract

Universities worldwide are mandated for training, research, consultancy and outreach. To ensure that they are responsive to community’s needs, as part of corporate social responsibility, Universities carry out outreach activities and engage with rural communities. However, many universities' outreach activities in rural communities face the challenge of sustainability. In addressing sustainability, Participatory Action Research (PAR) has proved to foster collaboration and meaningful engagements for community transformation. This is because using PAR to seek solutions to problems facing society and, simultaneously, meeting outreach goals fosters sustainability. In this paper, we use the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) as a case to report findings on achievements, challenges and critical lessons learned from selected outreach projects that used PAR interventional strategy. We collected primary data from community members based on our involvement in selected projects. We employed focus group discussions (FGDs) to collect primary data. These data were compiled and shared during feedback meetings and dialogue conferences. In addition, secondary data collected include information obtained from literature review, project reports and researchers’ field notes. Data were analyzed by thematic analysis procedure. Our experiences and results indicate that PAR interventional strategy sustained the University’s outreach activities, enhanced the University-community linkage and transformed rural communities in different ways, ranging from individual, economic and organisational empowerment. In addition, PAR fostered researcher-farmer interactions and collaboration among partners and actors. Critical lessons learned include long-term commitment to work with rural communities is necessary to build mutual trust and strong partnerships; communities perceive researchers as “outsiders” who have abilities and resources for addressing their felt needs and problems and PAR is limited by institutional set-up. However, frequent interactions and close involvement of stakeholders in project implementation guaranteed success.