This symposium, interrogates the relationship between critical theory, critical methodologies, and transformation in Community Psychology. We will 1) present a grassroots theory of transformation, 2) apply Social Reproduction Theory to transformative efforts, and 3) rethink knowledge production and epistemic violence in relation to research ethics. Building on our session from SCRA 2019: Critical Theory and Critical Perspectives in Community Psychology Praxis: Catalyzing Transformational Change, we will position the concept of transformation in the ‘critical’, and deepen our understanding of how critical theory and epistemic resistance are integral to our ability to create and sustain transformative changes. The first presentation Critical smallness as disruption: A grassroots theory of transformation, pulls from a study that used critical theory, critical epistemology and critical action to address the gap between how we think about and do transformation in Community Psychology. This study created a contextually-based, grassroots-developed, and academically informed theory of transformation developed in partnership with five community co-researchers in a Critical Participatory Action Research (C-PAR) study; The outcome of this grassroots driven research process was a theory of Critical smallness – centering and redefining the concept of ‘small’ in the field of Community Psychology. The second presentation Empowerment meets Social Reproduction Theory: The revolutionary power of relational praxis presents relationships as central to empowerment, and which are required to build the sociopolitical power needed to make change. Thus, the work of relationship-building, maintenance, and repair -- relational labour -- is required to increase power among groups lacking an equal share of resources. Relational labour activities involved in empowerment include engaging with inequitable social structures (e.g., racism, sexism, classism, ableism) in ways that build social power. This presentation outlines the use of critical theory, specifically Social Reproduction Theory, in an empirical study of relational empowerment and will focus on how experiences within social movement and labour organizing in California, paired with engagement with critical theory, shaped the presenters understanding of empowerment, thereby providing critical yet actionable research. In the third presentation Using community psychology values and principles to promote critical perspectives on research ethics, the presenter will share her experiences as an Indonesian based researcher, utilizing community psychology values and principles to promote more critical perspectives on research ethics. Some Indonesian scholars have criticized the tendency of academic institutions in Indonesia to reproduce injustices in society through knowledge production that ignore the voices of those who are oppressed or marginalized, which has been normalized through research practices that approach ethics in narrow and mechanistic ways. In this context, Community Psychology values and principles, particularly those related to the notion of power in knowledge production, can be useful conceptual tools to ignite critical dialogues around research ethics. These values and principles have created ways for disseminating more socially and politically contextual notions for assessing research ethics, such as the concept of epistemological violence. Together these presentations highlight the complexities of a critical theoretical and ethical framework to provide actionable steps towards catalyzing transformation and disrupting epistemic violence in Community Psychology research.