In conceptualizing improvement research methods, we distinguish between two ‘types’ of place-based methods for innovation and improvement:

• improvement research in education (IRE) and
• methods of continuous improvement (CI).

IRE refers to the formal approaches to local innovation and improvement that are rooted firmly in established research traditions and involve collaboration between practitioners (e.g., teachers, leaders) and other stakeholders (e.g., community members) and researchers working to address local, context-specific challenges, needs, and opportunities.

By contrast, CI methods do not necessarily situate their work in a specific research tradition, but rather identify practice-focused designs for iterative, place-based improvement that get carried out in practice contexts often without the participation of formal researchers. Examples of CI methods include Data Wise, Spirals of Inquiry, among others.