PyGyRG emerged from longstanding commitments within geography to participatory action research, collaboration, and social change. Today, these conversations are more important than ever as researchers increasingly work across institutional, disciplinary, and societal boundaries to address complex environmental, political, and social challenges.

We recognise that collaborative research is often messy, contested, and shaped by unequal power relations. Participatory and co-produced approaches are therefore not simply technical methods, but ways of thinking carefully about relationships, ethics, responsibility, expertise, and the politics of knowledge production.

Across the group, members share commitments to:

• collaboration and mutual learning;
• critical reflection and ethical practice;
• inclusion and widening participation;
• valuing diverse forms of knowledge and expertise;
• supporting research with public relevance and societal impact;
• challenging unequal power relations and exclusionary forms of knowledge production;
• connecting theory, practice, and action.

We welcome researchers and practitioners working across all areas of participatory, collaborative, community-engaged, and policy-facing research, whether within or beyond geography.