More about the Empowering Project

The Developing Empowering Methodologies in Management Research Project is an initiative by Professor Emma Bell from the Open University and Professor Sunita Singh Sengupta from the University of Delhi. They both submitted an application to the UKIERI UK-India Education and Research Initiative on October 2017.

The initial idea is to use post-colonial theory to look at power imbalances related to globalisation, colonialism and imperialism which are still affecting the planning and execution of management research in India. The Project will involve the use of politically-aware, humanist methods that ensure researchers' ethic of care towards participants and enable them to speak openly, including in ways which potentially challenge dominant managerial perspectives.

The Project will aim to recruit 6 Indian PhD students to work on Case Studies where they can implement the use of Empowering Methodologies. We are hoping that, in their methodological implementation,  each Case Study will account for and demonstrate the cultural and traditional background of researcher and participants. One area in which I am personally interested to see is Religion and Spirituality. I am hoping to see how these two "concepts" can play a part the de-colonisation of methodologies.

Anyway, Professor Sengupta and Professor Bell got a £50000 grant secured (for 2 years) and we started working in early May 2018. First we will plan a visit to the University of Delhi, India to meet with Professor Sengupta and promote the project among students. The visit will take place last week of May 2018.

I will keep you up-to-date with our activities and outcome of the visit to India here.