This account explores the experience of an action inquiry approach to develop a coaching culture within a public service organisation. We position action inquiry as a fresh interpretation of action learning that draws on a variety of roots and traditions and focuses on the nurturing of the collective capacity to lead through everyday interactions.…

This paper explores the thinking and practice of 'action inquiry' an embedded learning practice that can help navigate complexity when practising change together. The paper uses examples from social contexts where there are concerns about community wellbeing and health care. These are drawn from collaborative or collective leadership development…

In the context of a dramatic rise in food bank use in Scotland, the A Menu for Change project, delivered by Oxfam Scotland, Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Nourish Scotland and The Poverty Alliance, aimed to reduce the need for emergency food aid by improving local responses to food insecurity. Between 2017 and 2019, project officers…

This article describes the use of "business-driven" action learning in a healthcare setting. It reviews and reflects on an example where action learning does not "take", identifying the likely causes of this. It also poses four questions--whether action learning is counter-cultural in some organisations; whether the…