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In this paper we present a theoretical and methodological perspective on intervention research as a tool that can contribute to the strengthening of the political community in the contexts of communities and institutions. This is done on the basis of experience gained from an intervention research project at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, entitled Cidadania em Ação [ Citizenship in Action], conducted with the community around a public school in a slum area (favela) of the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Based on the theoretical-methodological assumptions of community social psychology, the project proceeded from three central perspectives: (a) theoretical and conceptual positions that sought to understand critically the complex relationship between the youths of the favela, the school, and citizenship, (b) analytical and theoretical positions which, refusing the individualized and psychologizing gaze of school, suggested an analysis of the context and social relations in the school, and (c) the demands made by the aforementioned school. Responding to criticisms that have been made of the participatory nature of our research, we insist, while emphasizing the disciplinary character of these initiatives, that intervention research may, in the contemporary context, contribute to the politicization of social relations. In addition, we also highlight the importance of reflexivity in the process of intervention research.