Circling around your research

The goal of this project is to develop and test the method Circling around your research.

The goal is to produce the following output:

• A manual for researchers and project leaders on how to use the toolkit Circling around your research
• A series of short video’s explaining the key concepts and methods within the toolkit
• Several canvases
• 2 reports describing the results of the test phase of the toolkit

01 January 2020 - 31 March 2024

The tool Circling around your project is developed and tested in close cooperation with ZonMW, the Dutch funding agency for health research. It is tested in two funding schemes with a total of seven consortia.

The method Circling around your research is based upon four basic principles:

• Through practice-based research we not only work on the development of new knowledge. A practice-based research project can also be used for three other purposes:
  • Developing products that can be used in practice
  • Developing people through participation and training
  • Developing systems like teams, organizations, cultures and policies through interventions

• Developing a research plan for practice-based research requires more than producing a research question and a research methodology. Nine elements need to be considered (see the research plan canvas below).
• Contributing to complex problems in practice requires an iterative approach. The same goes for developing the research plan.
• The process requires input from multiple perspectives and mutual equality from all stakeholders. Scientific knowledge, professional knowledge and experiential knowledge are equally important. For the research team to become successful learning to know each other as a person is key.

The toolkit is relevant for all researchers and other participants of research consortia that want to do research with impact.

The project was made possible through the funding of ZonMW, the Dutch funding agency for health, healthcare and well-being.