Participatory Policy Learning and New Municipalism

我将扩展我在评估方面的博士研究，在公共政策领域开辟新的议程。评估的核心原则是，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。尽管评价有希望，但它对变革性社会变革的影响很小，因为传统方法往往限制了在现状框架内学习的范围。我的博士研究以社会正义为核心价值的参与性行动研究为基础，发展了一种独创的“反建制评价”方法。反建制评估可以有力地证明社会行动对人们生活造成切实改善的方式，然后利用这些证据扩大关于转型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，在支持社会转型方面，我们可以从民间社会组织那里学到很多东西。目前，决策者很少意识到向公民社会学习的机会。一个更具参与性的方法可以建立在民间社会为解决社会问题提供新的政策思想的能力之上。市政机构可以使公众参与，同时它们以足够的规模运作，以实现变革性的社会变革。新的城市主义平台正在世界各地涌现，旨在创造一种新的参与式城市政治形式，以促进社会正义——例如，Barcelona en Comú。当代市政管理在实现社会公正方面具有相当大的潜力，但也可以从更系统的证据收集方法和对转型社会变革的了解中获益。通过民间社会、市政机构和资助组织之间的合作，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。这项ESRC奖学金将为学术界、民间社会、市政机构和资助组织之间的共享学习创造机会，其主要目标有三个：首先，考虑小规模社会行动为政策学习提供信息的潜力；第二，培育、塑造和实施市级评价文化和实践的新愿景；第三，为市政机构的参与性政策学习制定新的议程。我将与曼彻斯特和巴塞罗那的活动人士、民间社会组织、市政决策者和拨款机构合作，探索市政层面参与性政策学习的新方法。我将为利益相关者编写一份报告，提出建议，以促进每个城市的参与式政策学习。这一进程将为未来的研究合作创造新的伙伴关系，并使影响政策和实践的机会成为可能。我将为更广泛的读者制作小册子和数字长篇出版物。通过这个ESRC奖学金，我将通过推动参与式政策学习的新议程，为自己成为公共政策学术领域的研究领导者奠定基础。为此，我将在高影响力的同行评议期刊上发表四篇论文；通过积极参与伯明翰大学地方政府研究所；在巴塞罗那自治大学（Autonomous University of Barcelona）和欧洲政治研究联盟联席会议（European Consortium of Political Research’s Joint Sessions）上以访问学者身份介绍我的工作；并参加了纽约城市大学关键参与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.