Rethinking Complexity and Facilitation in Action Research for Territorial Development: Insights from the Etorkizuna Eraikiz Think Tank in the Basque Country
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Abstract
This paper addresses a core challenge in Action Research for Territorial Development (ARTD) processes: the growing difficulty of building shared understanding and cogenerating knowledge among actors who operate from increasingly fragmented epistemic, ontological, and communicative frameworks. Drawing on a three-year action research process within the Etorkizuna Eraikiz Think Tank (Basque Country, Spain), it asks how can insights from the action research process in the Etorkizuna Eraikiz Think Tank contribute to refining ARTD’s approach to complexity? The paper develops two contributions: an expanded notion of complexity that includes the epistemic fragmentation and a reconceptualization of facilitation as epistemic translation. These insights aim to strengthen ARTD’s capacity to engage with fragmented territorial realities.
Keywords: Action Research for Territorial Development, territorial complexity, facilitation, epistemic translation, co-generation
Repensar la complejidad y la facilitación en la investigación-acción para el desarrollo territorial: perspectivas del grupo de reflexión Etorkizuna Eraikiz en el País Vasco
Este artículo aborda un desafío central en los procesos de Investigación-Acción para el Desarrollo Territorial (IAT): la creciente dificultad de construir un entendimiento compartido y cogenerar conocimiento entre actores que operan desde marcos epistémicos, ontológicos y comunicativos cada vez más fragmentados. A partir de un proceso de investigación-acción de tres años en el Centro de Pensamiento Etorkizuna Eraikiz (País Vasco, España), se pregunta cómo pueden las perspectivas del proceso de investigación-acción en el Centro de Pensamiento Etorkizuna Eraikiz contribuir a perfeccionar el enfoque de la IAT sobre la complejidad. El artículo desarrolla dos contribuciones: una noción ampliada de complejidad que incluye la fragmentación epistémica y una reconceptualización de la facilitación como traducción epistémica. Estas perspectivas buscan fortalecer la capacidad de la IAT para abordar realidades territoriales fragmentadas.
Palabras clave: Investigación-Acción para el Desarrollo Territorial, complejidad territorial, facilitación, traducción epistémica, cogeneración
Bibliography: Gaztañaga Cinto, Mikel: Rethinking Complexity and Facilitation in Action Research for Territorial Development: Insights from the Etorkizuna Eraikiz Think Tank in the Basque Country, IJAR – International Journal of Action Research, 1-2026, pp. 52-72.
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