<sup>Developed from critical science or critical theory, action research is based on Kurt Lewins’ psychological theories, who, in 1946, describes his method as a way of generating knowledge about a social system while simultaneously trying to change it, placing importance and meaning of critical thinking, analysis and reflection in every day life. When applied to the workplace, the action research methodology is based on strategic planning, effective decision making, creative problem solving and situational leadership in combination with research and development activities as well as organisational team building. This makes action research the ideal tool to introduce a new service to an existing health care organisation.

In case of the development of the New Zealand wide, Auckland based, Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) service action research was used as a quick and sharp evaluation tool, which proved ideal for assessing the initial service needs as well as the subsequent progress of the service development. A total of eight action research cycles provided ongoing evaluation of the service development process over the past 5 years. The action research cycles were used to undertake an initial needs analysis, establish teaching outcome measures and service development outcome measures using implementation and evaluation phases. A range of methods were used to examine the development progress, including semi-structured interviews, field notes and audits utilising qualitative and quantitative research methods.</sup>