Goals and Approach

IIM is engaged in a process of continual interaction between reflection and action, which are mutually stimulating. This we refer to as action-research, but not strictly in the mode of social science research. IIM works towards recovering subjugated systems of knowledge in the informal sector and in various cultures, as well as articulating an intercultural and community-based method of research.
Our approach is fundamentally dialogical, and displays the following salient features:

• Participatory action-research, which translates into a synergetic dynamic between reflection and action (theory and practice).

• Ethnocultural and intercultural investigation into the realities of specific groups, communities and societies and into the nature of their interaction and coexistence.

• Interdisciplinary dialogue between social science disciplines, community-based knowledge, and the wisdom/knowledge systems of different cultures.

• Balancing North-South relations to avoid dominance or any new types of crypto-colonialistic theories with respect to pluralism and interculturalism.

• Integration of different cultural modes of knowledge and epistemologies.