ADDRESS: Fourth floor, Ross House

PHONE: 9650 6963

HOURS: Irregular - please leave message

CONTACT: Yoland Wadsworth and Jacques Boulet (Co-ordinators)

MEMBERSHIP COST: Varies - relative to means

MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA: Details available to all who are interested, as well as to all those who are actively committed to our objectives, etc.

HOW IS IT FUNDED: Unfunded (rely on sale of publications, fees for service and project grants)

In 1986 eight people met to discuss the need for research resources by local human services, community and self help groups. This was to be facilitated by assisting them to self-research and self-evaluate, using a service user (critical reference group) perspective as a compass to guide their inquiry. Requests for such assistance came from State and Federal governments, local government, community and welfare services, and self help groups. It was envisaged that the Centre would build on work done with individual human services and groups to produce publicly available resources of use to the whole field - such as written accounts of methodology and practice, workshop formats, and that it would activate networks of researchers.

ARIA is organised around a number of purposes, some of which are: to develop and promote a participatory action or critical theoretical research methodology; to apply such research methodology to assist users and providers of field services to make better sense of community needs and services required to maximise people's control over their own services; and to support the development and diffusion of participatory research methods.

Now comprised of around 30 committed members, the Association meets monthly to discuss issues of joint interest. The Centre continues to make available a range of publications about participatory action research methodology.