Spatial and temporal boundaries, stakeholder ownership and the power of people in action research and extension processes

![CDATA[From February, 1999 to June, 2003, an industry-funded project, known as the Profitable Pastures Project (PPP), was collaboratively managed by five stakeholder organisations representing industry, government and the research community. Together they aimed to create a project that was locally operated by farmers in pursuit of improved on-farm profitability within the New South Wales (NSW) dairy industry, Australia. PPP introduced a blend of Action Research (AR) methodology with agricultural extension across seven Regional Dairy Groups (RDGs) that effectively enhanced or newly established a variety of farmer-driven Action Learning (AL) and AR forums. Learning processes initiated by PPP were monitored at regional and state levels to glean farmer perspectives, as well as the impact of PPP upon the stakeholder institutions themselves. Meta-research linkages were explored between AR theory and practice, with analysis providing insights and implications for AR as an applied methodology. This paper explores the issues of i) spatial boundaries, ii) temporal boundaries, iii) ownership of process, and iv) achieving results with AL/AR processes. In conjunction these elements are argued to be critical for developing labour skills of all stakeholders within agriculture. They also ensure that the capacity of rural communities and their associated production systems are methodologically equipped to manage multidimensional and increasingly complex environments.]]