Redefining project actions and impact through ground-breaking academic cooperation

This chapter is a reflection on an action research process that analysed collaborative work done by project actors and researchers in an EU-funded project which promoted the urban circular economy. The reflection is authored by two project actors who were responsible for the project and a researcher who has analysed projectified governance. The action research process was built upon bi-weekly meetings over a two-year period between project actors and researchers. In the meetings, they discussed and reflected upon what was going on in the project and how they might improve it. This was a rare and fruitful opportunity for both parties. Research engagement enabled project actors to design and implement more ambitious development measures. The key aspect for fruitful collaboration was trust. The results section could have used fine-tuning of the praxes aspect, and the agency of the research team should have been more visible.