Understanding Social Practice Design and confronting it with an alternative approach to action research

The main features of Social Practice Design (SPD) approach (Cattani et al 2007, Jacucci 2007, Jacucci et al 2007, Jacucci et al 2006), are the starting point of this paper which has a twofold purpose: on one hand, to deepen our understanding of SPD; on the other hand, to confront SPD with an alternative approach on which is based an intervention research currently deployed in an Italian medium-sized athenaeum with the aim of re-configuring administrative work processes.We follow Weber’s methodological approach in order to reach these aims; therefore, we confront both SPD and the alternative approach with intervention research ideal types. In this way, we come to state our position with respect to the opportunity of regarding SPD as a “person centred approach to participative interventions”; on the other hand, we come to point up main elements featuring the alternative approach and differentiating it from SPD.