Today's pressing political, social, economic, and environmental crises urgently ask for effective policy responses and fundamental transitions towards sustainability supported by a sound knowledge base and developed in collaboration between all stakeholders. This book explores how action research forms a valuable methodology for producing such collaborative knowledge and action. It outlines the recent uptake of action research in policy analysis and transition research and develops a distinct and novel approach that is both critical and relational. By sharing action research experiences in a variety of settings, the book seeks to explicate ambitions, challenges, and practices involved with fostering policy changes and sustainability transitions. As such it provides crucial guidance and encouragement for future action research in policy analysis and transition research. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of policy analysis and transition research and more broadly to public administration and policy, urban and regional studies, political science, research and innovation, sustainability science, and science and technology studies. It will also speak to practitioners, policymakers and philanthropic funders aiming to engage in or fund action research.

Today's pressing political, social, economic, and environmental crises urgently ask for effective policy responses and fundamental transitions towards sustainability supported by a sound knowledge base and developed in collaboration between all stakeholders. This book explores how action research forms a valuable methodology for producing such collaborative knowledge and action. It outlines the recent uptake of action research in policy analysis and transition research and develops a distinct and novel approach that is both critical and relational. By sharing action research experiences in a variety of settings, the book seeks to explicate ambitions, challenges, and practices involved with fostering policy changes and sustainability transitions. As such it provides crucial guidance and encouragement for future action research in policy analysis and transition research. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of policy analysis and transition research and more broadly to public administration and policy, urban and regional studies, political science, research and innovation, sustainability science, and science and technology studies. It will also speak to practitioners, policymakers and philanthropic funders aiming to engage in or fund action research.

Participatory democracy has become an unshakable norm and its practice is widespread. Nowadays, public professionals and citizens regularly encounter each other in participatory practice to address shared problems. But while the frequency, pace and diversity of their public encounters has increased, communicating in participatory practice remains a challenging, fragile and demanding undertaking that often runs astray. This unique book explores how citizens and public professionals communicate, why this is so difficult and what could lead to more productive conversations. Using timely, original empirical research to make a thorough comparative analysis of cases in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy it shows policy makers, practitioners, students and academics the value of communicative capacity.

National service and volunteerism enjoy a rich history in the United States and an emergent future in other parts of the world. However, there remains relatively scant evidence of overall impact of national service programs and volunteer effectiveness. This condition continues to threaten national service and volunteer programs with the risk of defunding and/or the risk of not investing sufficiently from the start. This book brings together a selection of diverse chapters written by a combination of academicians, students, and practitioners from three countries and across multiple states in the United States. Each chapter approaches its topic uniquely but links with all others in identifying the impacts of service and volunteerism for volunteers, for beneficiaries of service, for the institution of volunteering, and/or for whole communities. The book is divided in five sections: (1) developing volunteer initiatives to achieve impact, (2) impact for and by youth volunteers, (3) impact in social or policy areas, specifically economy and financial success, education, and emergency response, (4) international perspectives with focus on Chile, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, and the post-communist states of Lithuania and Romania, and (5) conclusion with summary and suggestions for future research and practice.

National service and volunteerism enjoy a rich history in the United States and an emergent future in other parts of the world. However, there remains relatively scant evidence of overall impact of national service programs and volunteer effectiveness. This condition continues to threaten national service and volunteer programs with the risk of defunding and/or the risk of not investing sufficiently from the start. This book brings together a selection of diverse chapters written by a combination of academicians, students, and practitioners from three countries and across multiple states in the United States. Each chapter approaches its topic uniquely but links with all others in identifying the impacts of service and volunteerism for volunteers, for beneficiaries of service, for the institution of volunteering, and/or for whole communities. The book is divided in five sections: (1) developing volunteer initiatives to achieve impact, (2) impact for and by youth volunteers, (3) impact in social or policy areas, specifically economy and financial success, education, and emergency response, (4) international perspectives with focus on Chile, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, and the post-communist states of Lithuania and Romania, and (5) conclusion with summary and suggestions for future research and practice.