Participatory action research (PAR) is research involving the collaboration between local communities, organizations, or coalitions with a legitimate personal interest in solving a problem that affects them directly and expert outside facilitators. Together they define the problem, learn how to study it, design the research, analyzetheoutcomes, and design and execute the needed actions. PAR rests on a belief in the importance of local knowledge and the ability of people of all social conditions to take action on their own behalf to democratize the situations they live in.