Developing Playful and Tangible Approaches to the Gap Between Academia and Civil Society: Inclusion, and Access Through Participatory Action-Research

Over the years, academia has had the role of leading the processes of research and development, generating evidence to inform social change. However, this same evidence does not always seem to make these processes effective, based on the premise that there is a gap between higher education institutions and the various civil society organizations. The present work aims to systematize the insights regarding a set of playful resources, originated through Participatory Action Research (PAR) experiences, developed between academia and civil society organizations. These are characterized by a multistakeholder vision of this connection, which includes professors, researchers, students, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and cultural institutions. In addition, these experiences have a specific focus on increasing access and accessibility of distinct cultural forms through interaction and playfulness. In this context, four case studies are presented, as a strategy to bridge this gap, through the operationalization of the notions of social value, tangibility, playfulness, and pedagogical value. Different types of games and an interactive installation were developed from 2015 to 2022 and emerged from concrete problems experienced in the field by the different organizations. The results from these experiences highlight how media research can simultaneously study the users’ needs and produce innovation and change, while bridging the above-discussed gap.