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In terms of knowledge production, these research examples map out opportunities for new formats for engaging in research and, as a consequence, new meanings and opportunities for action and change emerge. The transformation/intervention is the creation of a learning community in which research participants can critically reflect on a topic, co-creating and sharing opportunities for themselves as well as for their context, issue, or challenge.

The illustrations above show some similarities and core values that make research a process of innovation:

1 Shared stories collected throughout the research process: They have the potential to connect people and to increase the sense of belonging.

2 Participatory and process-oriented: The focus is on what is happening in the ‘here and now’ and from there, decisions on how to move on with the research are made as opposed to relying on fixed methods to be followed rigidly that are independent from the context and from what is emerging.

3 Multiple voices invite complexity: Instead of simplifying the topic to come up with one final solution/result, in research as innovation the idea is to embrace the complexity in order to make new combinations, thereby inviting new meanings and actions.

4 Inclusive: Those participating in the research process are part of creating the process.

5 Flexible: Research as innovation understands research as an ongoing, unfolding process; the interest is in creating something new with participants.

What we want to highlight with these illustrations is that innovation in the research process is related to generative learning, engagement, and inclusion in the context researched; it is related to a methodologically pluralistic approach in which the research design unfolds in a relational, flexible and organic manner (Bodiford and Camargo-Borges, 2014). Looking forward, we see research as innovation as a metaphor that opens multiple doors in the research realm, thereby amplifying research as a process of creativity, imagination and transformation, and offering a revolutionary direction for research, particularly for academic research.

We believe that research that is viewed as innovation can be seen as a form of activism, calling attention to ethical dilemmas, political action, and issues of social justice. It can improve our understanding of inequality, oppression, violence, and other social issues. Researchers as innovators are liberated to engage and become more involved in socially significant academic research that has a strong social impact. Research, therefore, becomes an integrated part of daily life.