The Global Action Research Center
A non-profit organization dedicated to healthy people, healthy places, and healthy communities.
“The main goal can always be taken back to one thing: building social capital.”
About Us
The focus of the Global ARC is to bring the community’s voice into the public dialogue, focusing on those communities that have been marginalized. While our work is as varied as the communities we work with, there is a unifying thread that ties all of the work of the Global ARC together: creating, supporting, and expanding AUTHENTIC DEMAND. Authentic Demand occurs when the constituents being impacted by any public policy are at the decision-making table, have access to the same knowledge and information as others around the table, have an active voice in the decision, and are connected and accountable to an organized constituent group.
Recognizing that all residents must have an active voice in the decisions that impact their lives, the Global ARC uses a place-based approach with its methodology rooted in the principles of Popular Education. We work with residents to build on and strengthen their existing social networks so they may become more knowledgeable, better organized, and effectively engaged in the decisions that shape their community and their lives. We provide access university-based science and technology that can be used to address the neighborhood challenges they have identified and defined.
Our Vision
The Global ARC holds a vision of healthy, resilient communities where people learn and work together and life flourishes in just and equitable environments. It works toward this vision by assisting communities to find, articulate, and insert their voice into the public dialogue by connecting the grassroots to policy makers and researchers.
Our Mission
The Global ARC’s mission is to facilitate local communities and institutions in developing, sharing and scaling up sustainability solutions—locally and globally—to eradicate root causes of poverty, environmental degradation, and unhealthy living conditions.
Our bioregional organizing framework—brought to life through community-based projects and scholarship of engagement--is place-based, globally-minded, problem-solving and solutions-oriented.
Our Core Approaches
“I, for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they’ll create their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action.” Malcolm X
Civic Engagement
The Global ARC’s Civic Engagement endeavors explore new and innovative approaches to effectively engage community residents, community-based organizations, universities, businesses, and policymakers in strategic planning and participatory action research processes focused upon equitable social, economic, ecological, and cultural development of their communities. Our processes include integrating the knowledge of the residents in problem identification, solution creation, and evaluation of progress.
Transformational Facilitation
Transformational Facilitation presents new ways for universities to engage with community members, while jointly addressing challenges negatively impacting local neighborhoods. This value-based approach emphasizes reciprocity, respect, mutuality, equity, inclusion, partnership, and shared vision.
Civically Engaged Research
Civically Engaged Research is simply the application of social science research methodology in service of a community for a particular purpose. It is the use of the tools developed by social science to answer the questions raised by a community and fully involves that community in the development and implementation of the research as well as the interpretation of the data collected and the application of the findings. Civically Engaged Research is community led from beginning to end.
Click here more information on the components of our approach
Our History
The Global ARC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2009. It was founded by Dr. Keith Pezzoli, Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at UC San Diego. The initial focus was on environmental research, connecting a “rooted university” to community-led problem solving. A signature project initially established was The Ocean View Growing Grounds (OVGG). The OVGG Project began as a community garden, located in the Mountainview Community within Southeastern San Diego. This community had been designated as a “Food Desert” due to residents having limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The 27,000 sq ft OVGG site was designed to increase community health and nutrition, while also providing education and training related to urban agriculture.
In 2013 Dr. Pezzoli left the Global ARC to establish the Bioregional Center for Sustainability Science, Planning and Design at UC San Diego. Dr. Pezzoli recruited Paul Watson Jr., MSHS and Bill Oswald, PhD to lead the Global ARC. Paul and Bill brought with them over 40 years’ experience in teaching and implementing social change strategies. Under Paul and Bill’s leadership the Global ARC continued to explore environmental and climate change research. They established a “Bi-directional Learning System” between community groups and the university. They provided experiential learning to hundreds of university students. The Global ARC provided educational and demonstration workshops to the community related to urban agriculture, rainwater harvesting, bioswales, composting waste, and utilizing grey water. OVGG established itself as a ‘learning hub’ in partnership with UC San Diego’s Bioregional Center through the provision of community celebrations, BBQs, music, mural painting, establishing a children’s area, and becoming a place to meet your neighbors, fellow students, researchers, and policy makers.
Paul and Bill also established the Community Capacity Building Institute (CCBI) within the Global ARC in 2016, to provide opportunities for residents to learn how to organize and advocate for their needs. This work in San Diego focused on immigrants, refugees, and youth. The CCBI also provides strategic supports to grassroot groups, organizations, collaboratives, and networks in the form of strategic planning, training, coaching, Transformational Facilitation, organizational development, and problem solving.
The Global ARC continues to serve as an intermediary between institutions/government entities and community residents/groups. The intent of the intermediary role is to unlock new and more effective approaches to cooperative problem solving through community-led participatory action research projects.
In 2019 The Global ARC began to design and implement a transition plan for OVGG. The plan calls for moving from solely being an urban agriculture learning hub and health generator, into becoming a Climate Justice Learning Hub specializing in Nature-based Climate Solutions, such as planting trees, community gardens, composting, bioswales, rainwater harvesting, and grey water utilization. The learning hub will address safe Food, Water, Air and Clean Energy. The transition plan also includes providing opportunities to learn about nutrition and mindfulness. A unique feature of this transition is the creation of the Young Climate Justice Advocates Project, which will train middle school, high school and university youth in climate justice advocacy.
In addition to its main office, the Global ARC now has two satellite offices, one in City Heights and one in Mountain View.