Designing for a Productive Politics of Participation in Research Practice Partnerships

Abstract

This article considers contested conceptions of community and trajectories toward full participation in research-practice partnerships (RPPs) as key analytical aspects for studying a productive politics of participation. RPPs, as methodology and infrastructure for community participation, frequently surface the character of participation in intersecting communities of practice—making them visible and actionable. I examine two youth-serving RPPs. This analysis considers youth digital media projects as strategies for increasing participation and renegotiating power relations. Findings signal RPPs can help discern the degree to which young people are held on the periphery in communities of practice where marginalizing relations can be reinforced.