Co-researching Environments: A Practice Research Partnership Exploring Strategies to Address Food Insecurity

Abstract

A co-researching environment describes the conditions that enable equitable partnership: who is involved, how power is shared, how knowledge is generated, and how outputs are embedded into wider systems. Using a practice research partnership on food insecurity in Aotearoa New Zealand as an illustrative case, this article shows how “co-researching environments” can guide the conduct and outputs of collaborative research. Data were collected through six virtual workshops and reflective dialogues with 25 practice partners and analyzed using hybrid thematic analysis, informed by a Practice Ecosystems Framework. Analysis highlighted four adaptive processes (co-creating, co-learning, co-producing, and co-shaping) through which collaboration was enacted, and three community-led strategies (negotiating, embedding, innovating) to address food insecurity. While strategies addressing food insecurity are context-specific, it requires a collective approach. “Co-researching environments” outline conditions to respond to increasing calls for collaborative knowledge generation that aligns research and service development.