Knowledge, Policymaking and Learning for European Cities and Regions

Edited by Nicola Francesco Dotti, Independent Scholar, Brussels, Belgium

'At a time of major transformation in the relationship between research and policy, this is a timely and thought-provoking volume. The creation of knowledge, and its application to the design and implementation of policy, have new analytical possibilities from big and open data - as well as opportunities and obligations for the involvement of citizens in imaginative ways. This book draws combines theoretical debates and practical experiences of policy learning from different institutional perspectives. It should be required reading for scholars and policymakers interested in fostering more effective research-policy dialogues.'--John Bachtler, University of Strathclyde, UK'This edited book proposes an original and very interesting analysis of the complex interaction between researchers and policymakers. Considering their different rationalities, the authors focus theoretically, methodologically, and empirically on the learning conditions which allow these two types of actors to interact with each other in and on the policy process.'--Philippe Zittoun, University of Lyon, France'A timely and very useful collection providing a fresh look at an old problem: the problematic relationship between policy research and policymaking. A necessary read for scholars interested in generating usable knowledge.'--Bruno Dente, Politecnico di Milano, Italy

• Contents:IntroductionPART I Theoretical Framework: Learning Knowledge for Policymaking1. The research–policy nexus: boundaries, bonding and ten golden rulesAlessandro Colombo2. Theories on policy learning: Existing approaches and future challengesStéphane Moyson and Peter Scholten3. Methodological challenges for policy learningPaola Coletti and Giulia Urso4. Learning across cities and regions: The limits to transferring “best practice”Dominic Stead and Dorina PojaniPART II Experiences of Policy-Oriented Research in Cities and Regions5. Spatial knowledge for regional governance: toward an alternative map of Castilla y LeónMario Paris and Juan Luis de las Rivas Sanz6. Éupolis Lombardia: Practising Research-Policy Dialogue for a Regional GovernmentSabrina Bandera and Maria Chiara Cattaneo7. Knowledge Serving the City? Brokerage, Production and Sharing in BrusselsJoost Vaesen and Benjamin Wayens8. Scotland: a thriving environment for policy entrepreneurship?Serafin Pazos-Vidal9. Dutch experiences of policy mobility in urban planningDominic Stead and Dorina Pojani10. Knowledge governance in sustainable development: a comparative case studyAlwin Gerritsen, Marian Stuiver and Catrien TermeerPART III In-Formation: Experiences and Reflections from an Incoming Revolution11. Policy learning in times of big data analytics: The challenges of skill-based outsourcingSarah Giest12. Visual framing for policy learning: Internet as the ‘eye of the public’Tamara Metze13. Knowledge, Urban policy-making and citizen participation: a democratic challengeFranziska Eckardt, Willem-Jan Velderman and Paul Benneworth14. Beyond big data, the open data revolution for researchPaul Benneworth, Inge Bakker and Willem-Jan Velderman15. Smart cities, towards smart governance?Tassilo HerrschelPART IV Towards New Theoretical Models: Open Challenges16. Evaluating coordination and learning within governance: open epistemological issuesDan Greenwood17. What role for policy studies in a post-truth politics?Adrian Healy18. Knowledge Governance: Theoretical and Empirical Reflections on territorial innovation policyAlwin Gerritsen and Nicola Francesco Dotti19. Knowledge for policymaking: an evolutionary perspective to achieve policy resilienceNicola Francesco Dotti and Annalisa ColombinoPART V Lessons Learnt20. Conclusions on Research-Policy DialoguesNicola Francesco Dotti and Alessandro ColomboIndex