Since its establishment in 2004, the center has become the leading force in action research in Israel. Its goal is to leverage YVC’s academic resources in order to promote social justice, inclusion, and intergroup relations through collaborative learning, knowledge production and a reexamination of the relationship between academia and the community.
Over the years, the center has been involved with various areas of action research through collaboration with communal and national organizations in areas such as: education, community development, people with disabilities, and Arab-Jewish relations. These projects have provided unique responses to social needs, generated theoretical and applied knowledge and produced numerous publications.
Today, the center brings together researchers, professionals, social activists and community members who are prepared to reexamine their current assumptions and methods and to realize, through action and inquiry, the potential hidden within diverse communities.
The center’s mission is carried out through the following strategies:
- Support of projects which further diversity in academics, such as the “Academic Puzzle” project
- Participation in the college’s sustainability committee which takes steps to implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Establishment of a community of researchers and activists which jointly learns, researches and takes social action
- Creation of a special framework for change agents to develop their ability to promote personal and systematic change
- Development of training programs in the methods and skills of action research
- Support for the innovation and execution of action research in the community
- Development of strategic fields of action to promote systematic change
- Production of practical knowledge and its circulation
The center invests significant energy and resources in establishing and maintaining ongoing academic dialogues with colleagues outside of Israel. These academic interactions keep professors and students abreast of new developments, expand their horizons of inquiry, and encourage collaborative research and applied projects.
Head of the Center
Dr. Gila Amitay
gilaa@yvc.ac.il
Founding Director
Dr. Victor Friedman