World Café: a participatory research tool for the criminologist engaged in seeking world views for transformation

This paper introduces the creative participatory research methodology of ‘World Café’ in the context of our primary research on NPS (new psychoactive substances) usage within the youth and homeless population in Stoke-on-Trent in the UK. Our study involved conducting 6 World Cafes, with a total of 41 participants with homeless hostel service users (n=16), local college students (n=14) and professionals working with illegal drug users (n=11). We offer new pedological insight for a criminological research method that has the potential to be transformative. The ‘World Café’ is a conversational methodology that enables participants and researchers to get a ‘world’ view of issues and it lends itself for discussions pertaining to innovative solutions (Brown with Isaacs, 2005). A world view and innovative solutions can facilitate transformation at an individual level, as well as whole systems change in policy and practice. The role of the criminological researcher is to encourage participants to become active research assistants and our amended model combines this with undergraduate student researchers. Active engagement of research participants at a participatory level facilitates transformation of the research process in reducing power dynamics. We discuss the ‘world café’ approach and its transformative potential considering our first-hand experience of using the methodology to gather data on NPS drug usage.