Translation across borders: exploring the use, relevance and impact of academic research in the policy process

该项目的总体目标是通过探索将大学主导的研究转化为政府政策过程来加强互联社区（CC）计划的遗产。我们的目标是通过借鉴人文科学和解释性社会科学的见解和方法来挑战和扩大对研究的主流理解。人们普遍认为，当代社会问题的范围和复杂性都在增加，如果要制定适当的对策，就必须更好地了解这些问题。然而，有一个长期存在的问题，学术研究在理解这种复杂性的相关性并不总是明显的潜在的“研究用户”在政府。拟议研究的核心是观察CC项目产生的研究成果的使用和翻译，因为它们进入中央政府和地方政府的政策进程。这一过程涉及白厅的学术研究人员、研究分析人员和政策小组与执行政策倡议的当地从业人员之间的互动。我们将提出三个研究问题：1：如何不同类型的CC研究的“产出”纳入政策舞台？第二章：在不同领域（学术界、政府研究分析人员等）中，明确偏好和习惯采用何种交流模式和知识类型。为什么呢第三章：关于不同类型的发现和传播模式的价值的假设涵盖了这些领域，这些假设对变化的敏感程度如何？该研究将重点关注DCLG CC政策审查的以下成果。这将允许对2014/2015年期间接收和翻译的各种不同类型的通信进行比较，因此可以“真实的”跟踪。根据研究团队的广泛经验，以及为审查而进行的CC项目审查，其他CC成果将在适当时引入学者和研究人员之间的“对话”。将通过对所有气候变化项目的调查，将这一详细的解释性工作置于更广泛的背景下，以确定整个方案政策参与的程度和性质。这项研究将由一个学者团队和DCLG的权力下放和大社会（DABS）部门的研究分析师共同制作。在执行过程中，将与该司的政策小组和地方政府官员密切接触，开展“我们的地方！邻里关系预算方案（即政策审查的主要“用户”）。我们将：a）调查气候变化政策参与情况：B）观察：非参与者观察DABS会议，平均每月两次，为期12个月的实地考察期（和/或其他机会）加上4个为期一周的DABS内嵌入式参与者观察实地考察;在3 OurPlace中观察和采访！c）半结构化访谈：与政策审查学者、DABS和OurPlace！官员（d）启动讲习班：e）研讨会：三个研讨会，所有参与者将明确检查影响跨团队边界翻译的假设和过程。f）反思性写作：我们对翻译过程的集体持续分析将通过研究团队和研究合作伙伴每月一页的反思进行总结和测试。产出将是：a）对文化交流计划参与政策制定情况的调查B）为学术研究人员（特别是从艺术和人文学科角度开展工作的人员）提供指导，指导他们与政策制定者共同制作作品并提高影响力c）为政府官员提供指导，指导他们使用艺术和人文学科研究成果d）在选定的期刊上发表学术文章。

The overall aim of this project is to enhance the legacy of the Connected Communities (CC) programme through exploring the translation of university-led research into governmental policy processes. We aim to challenge and expand dominant understandings of research by drawing on insights and methods from the humanities and interpretive social science. Contemporary social problems are widely perceived as increasing in scope and complexity, and needing to be better understood if appropriate policy responses are to be developed. However, there is a longstanding problem that the relevance of academic research in understanding this complexity is not always obvious to potential 'research users' in government. The heart of the proposed research is to observe the use and translation of research outputs generated by CC projects as they move into central government and local government policy processes. This process involves the interaction of academic researchers, research analysts and policy teams in Whitehall and local practitioners who implement policy initiatives. We will pose three research questions:1: how are different kinds of CC research 'outputs' taken into policy arenas? 2: what modes of communication and types of knowledge are explicitly preferred and habitually adopted in different domains (academic, government research analyst etc.) and why?3: what assumptions about the value of different kinds of findings and modes of communication characterise the domains, and how susceptible to change are these? The research will focus on following outputs from the CC Policy Reviews for DCLG. This will allow comparison of a wide range of different kinds of communication whose uptake and translation will be taking place during 2014/2015 and so can be followed 'in real time'. Drawing on the research team's wider experience, and the review of CC projects carried out for the Reviews, other CC outputs will be introduced into the 'conversations' between academics and researchers as and when appropriate. This detailed, interpretive work will be put into a broader context through a survey of all CC projects to identify the extent and nature of policy engagement across the programme. The research will be co-produced by a team of academics and the research analysts of DCLG's Decentralisation and Big Society (DABS) division. Its execution will involve close engagement with the Division's policy team and local government officers in the pilots of the 'OurPlace!' neighbourhood budgeting programme (i.e. key 'users' of the Policy Reviews). We will:a) Survey CC policy engagement: on-line survey of all CC projects, followed up by five interviews.b) Observation: non-participant observation of DABS meetings averaging two per month over the 12 month fieldwork period (and/or others as opportunity arises) plus 4 periods, of one week, embedded participant observation fieldwork within DABS; obesravtion and interviewing in 3 OurPlace! authorities.c) Semi-structured interviews: with Policy Review academics, DABS and OurPlace! officials. d) Initiation workshop: with wider group of expert academics and policy makers and practitioners.e) Workshops: three workshops in which the assumptions affecting and processes of translation across team borders will be explicitly examined by all participants.f) Reflective writing: Our collective, continuous analysis of translation processes will be summarised and tested by monthly one-page reflections across the research team and research partners.The outputs will be:a) a survey of the CC programme's engagement with policy making b) guidance for academic researchers (especially those working from arts and humanities perspectives) on co-production and increasing impact with policy-makersc) guidance for government officials on using arts and humanities research d) academic articles in selected journals.