New Forms of Public Participation: The Festival of Difference as Action Research on the Road to a More Inclusive Labour Market

This chapter explores the similarities and differences between action research and feminist research. It explores if and how action research theories and praxis can strengthen democratic dimensions in gender mainstreaming change and development projects. Feminist and action research traditions emphasise the necessity both in theory and practice to extend the arena of scientific knowledge production from being a partial, exclusive, limited arena to an inclusive, extended arena. A combined feminist and action or interactive research approach is chosen to strengthen the possibility of achieving a more democratic and sustainable development and change process, as well as achieving an increased gender consciousness and acting innovation system. Reflexive gender reminders are introduced as a democratic concept and used as an analytical process tool. They serve to continuously highlight important gendered structures in the gender mainstreaming process. In 2008, the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems announced the TIGER programme for applied gender research for strong research and innovation environments.