Panelists: Alex A. Frediani, University College London, and Melanie Walker, University of the Free State

In these times of the pandemic, for us as academics, researchers and practitioners who are carrying out our work using participatory approaches, the lockdowns, restrictions on travel, connectivity problems, and the declining availability of stakeholders has serious implications for the quality and the validity of the participatory inquiries and outcomes of our projects.

Through this discussion, we wish to create a collective learning space to come out with options and alternatives that could be adopted to stay true to the principles and processes of participatory research in the pandemic era. What are the frameworks within the capability approach that enable us to understand the present crisis through participatory research? What have been the lived experiences of the researchers in taking forward their participatory work? Is there scope for methodological negotiations and alternatives that could be recommended for participatory researchers to be able to do justice to their research agenda and objectives?