An Academic Doing Community Service Turning Into Action Research Turning Into Advocacy

Abstract

Program faculty in Public Administration are increasingly required to engage in community ser­vice. This article presents a case about the author’s involvement in a conflict between a small Dutch municipality, which was forced by a Dutch province to amalgamate with a neighboring municipality but refused to comply. This article shows that becom­ing involved as a scholar in such conflicting pro­cesses can be dangerous, especially for the scholar involved, and that it is wise to take precautions be­forehand. Such processes can become conflictual in which rationality is absent, and power and interests dominate. Dilemmas are already visible from the start, continue to be bothersome during the process, and can haunt the academic even after the commu­nity service has ended.

Keywords

• community service
• action research
• advocacy
• dilemmas.