Access Folk Small Project Grants: Methodology

Access Folk is a research project exploring ways to increase and diversify participation in folk singing in England. Like many in the arts, the folk scene is facing hardship because the impacts of covid-19 and the current economic climate are affecting venues, organisers, amateur and professional singers and audience members alike. These issues, combined with the ageing of many of the scene’s key activists, raises questions about how the folk singing scene in England might develop over the coming decades. At University of Sheffield, a team of academic and community partners are looking into the current problems and testing potential solutions. The five-year project (2022-2027) hopes to prompt action to help increase accessibility to folk singing for more diverse populations in England.

This submission is one of two related documents that describe 1) the methodology for the action research phases of the Access Folk research project, and 2) the derived tools and workflows (doi: 10.15131/shef.data.29369834).

The Methodology document identifies the purpose of the research and key stakeholders. It also contextualises participatory and action research methodologies in the disciplinary context of ethnomusicology, while demonstrating applications in the development, deployment, and evaluation of the Access Folk Small Project Grants. It specifically addresses integrations and applications of Theory of Change, Most Significant Change, and Failspace in individual Access Folk Small Projects. Additionally, a model timeline is provided that maps project and research activities to the personnel involved, methodological function, and tools available in the accompanying Research Methods, Tools, and Workflows document.

This research was approved by the University of Sheffield ethical review process: 056800

All the available items arising from the project are available in the Access Folk Collection.