Participatory Policy Learning and New Municipalism

我将扩展我的博士研究评估，在公共政策领域开辟一个新的议程。评价的核心原则是，应使用证据来确定干预措施的影响，并为未来的社会政策提供信息。尽管评估有希望，但它对变革性的社会变革几乎没有影响，因为传统方法往往会限制现状框架内的学习范围。我的博士研究开发了一种基于参与式行动研究的“反建制评估”的原创方法，以社会正义为核心价值。反建制评估可以有力地证明社会行动对人们生活带来切实改善的方式，然后利用这些证据扩大有关变革性社会变革的政策学习范围。民间社会组织经常尝试创新方法来促进社会正义。因此，可以从民间社会组织那里学到很多东西，以支持社会转型。目前，决策者很少有机会向民间社会学习。一种更具参与性的办法可以利用民间社会的能力，为解决社会问题提出新的政策构想。市政机构可以促进公众参与，同时它们的运作规模足以促成变革性的社会变革。世界各地正在出现新的城市主义平台，旨在创造一种新的参与性城市政治形式，以促进社会正义-例如，巴塞罗那社区。当代社会主义有相当大的潜力，以提供社会正义，但可以受益于更系统的方法，以证据和了解变革性的社会变革。通过民间社会、市政机构和赠款组织之间的合作，城市可以成为社会创新的场所，为社会不公正创造新的解决方案。我将与曼彻斯特和巴塞罗那的利益相关者合作，推动在市政机构中实施和嵌入参与式政策学习的新方向。ESRC奖学金将为学术界、民间社会、市政机构和赠款组织创造共享学习的机会，主要目标有三个：首先，考虑小规模社会行动的潜力，为政策学习提供信息;第二，在市一级培养、塑造和实施新的评价文化和做法;第三，为市政机构的参与式政策学习制定新的议程。我将与活动家，民间社会组织，曼彻斯特和巴塞罗那的市政决策者和赠款组织，探索在市政一级进行参与性政策学习的新方法。我将为利益攸关方编写一份报告，并提出建议，以促进每个城市的参与性政策学习。这一进程将为未来的研究合作创造新的伙伴关系，并为影响政策和实践创造机会。我将为更广泛的受众制作一本小册子和一份电子版长篇出版物。通过这个ESRC奖学金，我将通过推进参与式政策学习的新议程，奠定基础，建立自己作为公共政策学术领域的研究领导者。我将通过在高影响力的同行评审期刊上发表四篇论文来实现这一目标;通过在伯明翰大学地方政府研究所的积极参与;通过访问奖学金在巴塞罗那自治大学和欧洲政治研究联合会会议上展示我的工作;并参加了纽约城市大学批判性批判行动研究所的一个独特的培训讲习班。

I will extend my PhD research on evaluation to open up a new agenda in the field of public policy. The core principle of evaluation is that evidence should be used to identify the impact of an intervention and inform future social policy. Despite its promise, evaluation has had little impact on transformative social change, as conventional approaches tend to limit the scope for learning within the frames of the status quo. My PhD research has developed an original approach of 'counter-establishment evaluation' based on participatory action research with social justice as a core value. Counter-establishment evaluation can robustly evidence the ways in which social action has caused tangible improvements to people's lives, and then use this evidence to broaden the scope of policy learning about transformative social change.Civil society organisations often experiment with innovative approaches to promote social justice. As such, there is much that can be learned from civil society organisations to support social transformation. At present, opportunities to learn from civil society are rarely realised by policy-makers. A more participatory approach can build on the capabilities of civil society to contribute new policy ideas to address social problems. Municipal institutions can enable public participation, while at the same time they operate at a sufficient scale to enable transformative social change. New municipalist platforms are emerging around the world, and aim to create a new form of participatory urban politics to promote social justice - for example, Barcelona en Comú. Contemporary municipalism has considerable potential to deliver social justice, but could benefit from more systematic approaches to evidence and learn about transformative social change. Through collaboration between civil society, municipal institutions, and grant-making organisations, cities can become sites of social innovation to create new solutions to social injustice. I will engage with stakeholders in Manchester and Barcelona to advance a new direction for implementing and embedding participatory policy learning within municipal institutions.This ESRC fellowship will create opportunities for shared learning across academia, civil society, municipal institutions and grant-making organisations with three key aims: firstly, to consider the potential for small-scale social action to inform policy-learning; secondly, to cultivate, shape, and implement a new vision for evaluative culture and practice at a municipal level; and thirdly, to set out a new agenda for participatory policy learning in municipal institutions.I will engage with activists, civil society organisations, municipal policy-makers and grant-making organisations in Manchester and Barcelona to explore new approaches for participatory policy-learning at a municipal level. I will produce a report for the stakeholders with recommendations to advance participatory policy learning in each city. This process will create new partnerships for future research collaborations and enable opportunities to impact policy and practice. I will produce a pamphlet and digital long-form publication for a broader audience. Through this ESRC Fellowship, I will set the foundations to establish myself as a research leader in the academic field of public policy by advancing a new agenda in participatory policy learning. I will achieve this by publishing four papers in high impact, peer-reviewed journals; through active involvement at the University of Birmingham's Institute of Local Government Studies; by presenting my work at both the Autonomous University of Barcelona through a visiting fellowship, and the European Consortium of Political Research's Joint Sessions conference; and by taking part in a unique training workshop at the Critical Participatory Action Research Institute at City University New York.