participate in the monitoring and accountability of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if t... more participate in the monitoring and accountability of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if the ‘leave no-one behind’ ambition is to be met. Participatory accountability is necessary for their realities to be understood and for their voices to be heard. This can be achieved through processes that both enable personal empowerment, collective identity building and knowledge of rights, and support interest in and capabilities for political engagement. Knowledge generated by people in the margins must complement statistical data in order to build a deeper understanding of the issues that perpetuate poverty and inequality and how to address them. People’s knowledge and collective action for accountability needs to be joined with efforts by national governments, civil society organisations, the UN and other multilateral institutions. Accountability, as expressed in Goal 16 of the SDGs, is a gateway to achieving all other goals and the framework as a whole. The SDGs commitment to ‘leav...
While there is growing scholarship on the intersectional nature of people's experience of margina... more While there is growing scholarship on the intersectional nature of people's experience of marginalisation, analyses tend to ignore religion-based inequalities. A lack of Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB) undermines people's possibilities of accessing services and rights and enjoying wellbeing (World Bank 2013; Narayan et al. 2000, Deneulin and Shahani 2009). In this paper, we discuss how religion and faith-based inequalities intersect with other horizontal and vertical inequalities, to create further exclusions within as well as between groups. We offer our experience of using participatory action research (PAR) methodologies to enable insights into lived experiences of intersecting inequalities. In particular, we reflect on intersecting inequalities in the context of India, and share some experiences of facilitating PAR processes with marginalised groups, such as Denotified Tribes (DNT). We introduce a FoRB lens to understand how DNT communities in India experience marginalisation and oppression. The examples discussed here focus on the intersection of religious belief with caste, tribal, gender and other socially constructed identities, as well as poverty. Through taking a PAR approach to working with these communities, we show how PAR can offer space for reflection, analysis, and sometimes action with relation to religion-based and other inequalities. We share some lessons that are useful for research, policy and practice, which we have learned about methods for working with vulnerable groups, about how religion-based inequalities intersect with others, and the assumptions and blind spots that can perpetuate these inequalities.
This paper examines the drivers of inequality and social exclusion, especially discrimination, wi... more This paper examines the drivers of inequality and social exclusion, especially discrimination, with a focus on how they intersect at the levels of family, community and local government institutions. The paper reviews current literature and emerging research, drawing on empirical work being carried out by the authors in Central and Eastern Europe, the UK and Africa. Theories of intersectionality and power relations are grounded in an analysis of Roma inclusion policies and Roma people's own experiences of these policies at the local level in Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on Hungary, Romania and, to a lesser degree, Serbia. Examples are also drawn from participatory research with marginalised communities in Ghana.
How people and organisations can catalyse sustainable change ' We are trying our best to bring ch... more How people and organisations can catalyse sustainable change ' We are trying our best to bring change but we can't do it, and tackle wider social problems, alone. So we want you to work with us. '
In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, the move from government to governance has been well documen... more In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, the move from government to governance has been well documented (Stoker, 1998; Rhodes, 1996, 1997). In the global North, governance is understood as a response to complexity and a recognition that many problems cannot be solved by ...
Abstract This chapter introduces the notion of the ‘Innovation Story’ as a methodological approac... more Abstract This chapter introduces the notion of the ‘Innovation Story’ as a methodological approach to public policy evaluation, which builds in greater opportunity for learning and reflexivity. The Innovation Story is an adaptation of the case study approach and draws on participatory action research traditions. It is a structured narrative that describes a particular public policy innovation in the personalised contexts in which it is experienced by innovators. Its construction involves a discursive process through which involved actors tell their story, explain it to others, listen to their questions and co-construct knowledge of change together. The approach was employed to elaborate five case studies of place-based leadership and public service innovation in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Mexico. The key findings are that spaces in which civic leaders come together from different ‘realms’ of leadership in a locality (community, business, professional managers and political leaders) can become innovation zones that foster inventive behaviour. Much depends on the quality of civic leadership, and its capacity to foster genuine dialogue and co-responsibility. This involves the evaluation seeking out influential ideas from below the level of strategic management, and documenting leadership activities of those who are skilled at ‘boundary crossing’ – for example, communicating between sectors. The evaluator can be a key player in this process, as a convenor of safe spaces for actors to come together to discuss and deliberate before returning to practice. Our approach therefore argues for a particular awareness of the political nature of policy evaluation in terms of negotiating these spaces, and the need for politically engaged evaluators who are skilled in facilitating collective learning processes.
How people and organisations can catalyse sustainable change ' We are trying our best to bring ch... more How people and organisations can catalyse sustainable change ' We are trying our best to bring change but we can't do it, and tackle wider social problems, alone. So we want you to work with us. ' (Purent Oduor * , Mathare, Nairobi, Spatial Collective 2013) Work with us The Participate initative
Latin Americans working at the community level would not use the term 'community development... more Latin Americans working at the community level would not use the term 'community development'. They would find it a little vacuous, empty of the political content which communities need to 'develop', or as they might put it: gain voice and power, challenge ...
Latin Americans working at the community level would not use the term 'community development... more Latin Americans working at the community level would not use the term 'community development'. They would find it a little vacuous, empty of the political content which communities need to 'develop', or as they might put it: gain voice and power, challenge ...
Disadvantaged by where you live?Neighbourhood governance in contemporary urban policy, 2007
... Login |, Neighbourhoods, democracy and citizenship. Howard, J. and Sweeting, D. (2007) Neighb... more ... Login |, Neighbourhoods, democracy and citizenship. Howard, J. and Sweeting, D. (2007) Neighbourhoods, democracy and citizenship. In: Smith, I., Lepine, E. and Taylor, M., eds. Disadvantaged by where you live? Neighbourhood governance in contemporary urban policy. ...
participate in the monitoring and accountability of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if t... more participate in the monitoring and accountability of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) if the ‘leave no-one behind’ ambition is to be met. Participatory accountability is necessary for their realities to be understood and for their voices to be heard. This can be achieved through processes that both enable personal empowerment, collective identity building and knowledge of rights, and support interest in and capabilities for political engagement. Knowledge generated by people in the margins must complement statistical data in order to build a deeper understanding of the issues that perpetuate poverty and inequality and how to address them. People’s knowledge and collective action for accountability needs to be joined with efforts by national governments, civil society organisations, the UN and other multilateral institutions. Accountability, as expressed in Goal 16 of the SDGs, is a gateway to achieving all other goals and the framework as a whole. The SDGs commitment to ‘leav...
While there is growing scholarship on the intersectional nature of people's experience of margina... more While there is growing scholarship on the intersectional nature of people's experience of marginalisation, analyses tend to ignore religion-based inequalities. A lack of Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB) undermines people's possibilities of accessing services and rights and enjoying wellbeing (World Bank 2013; Narayan et al. 2000, Deneulin and Shahani 2009). In this paper, we discuss how religion and faith-based inequalities intersect with other horizontal and vertical inequalities, to create further exclusions within as well as between groups. We offer our experience of using participatory action research (PAR) methodologies to enable insights into lived experiences of intersecting inequalities. In particular, we reflect on intersecting inequalities in the context of India, and share some experiences of facilitating PAR processes with marginalised groups, such as Denotified Tribes (DNT). We introduce a FoRB lens to understand how DNT communities in India experience marginalisation and oppression. The examples discussed here focus on the intersection of religious belief with caste, tribal, gender and other socially constructed identities, as well as poverty. Through taking a PAR approach to working with these communities, we show how PAR can offer space for reflection, analysis, and sometimes action with relation to religion-based and other inequalities. We share some lessons that are useful for research, policy and practice, which we have learned about methods for working with vulnerable groups, about how religion-based inequalities intersect with others, and the assumptions and blind spots that can perpetuate these inequalities.
This paper examines the drivers of inequality and social exclusion, especially discrimination, wi... more This paper examines the drivers of inequality and social exclusion, especially discrimination, with a focus on how they intersect at the levels of family, community and local government institutions. The paper reviews current literature and emerging research, drawing on empirical work being carried out by the authors in Central and Eastern Europe, the UK and Africa. Theories of intersectionality and power relations are grounded in an analysis of Roma inclusion policies and Roma people's own experiences of these policies at the local level in Central and Eastern Europe, focusing on Hungary, Romania and, to a lesser degree, Serbia. Examples are also drawn from participatory research with marginalised communities in Ghana.
How people and organisations can catalyse sustainable change ' We are trying our best to bring ch... more How people and organisations can catalyse sustainable change ' We are trying our best to bring change but we can't do it, and tackle wider social problems, alone. So we want you to work with us. '
In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, the move from government to governance has been well documen... more In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, the move from government to governance has been well documented (Stoker, 1998; Rhodes, 1996, 1997). In the global North, governance is understood as a response to complexity and a recognition that many problems cannot be solved by ...
Abstract This chapter introduces the notion of the ‘Innovation Story’ as a methodological approac... more Abstract This chapter introduces the notion of the ‘Innovation Story’ as a methodological approach to public policy evaluation, which builds in greater opportunity for learning and reflexivity. The Innovation Story is an adaptation of the case study approach and draws on participatory action research traditions. It is a structured narrative that describes a particular public policy innovation in the personalised contexts in which it is experienced by innovators. Its construction involves a discursive process through which involved actors tell their story, explain it to others, listen to their questions and co-construct knowledge of change together. The approach was employed to elaborate five case studies of place-based leadership and public service innovation in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Mexico. The key findings are that spaces in which civic leaders come together from different ‘realms’ of leadership in a locality (community, business, professional managers and political leaders) can become innovation zones that foster inventive behaviour. Much depends on the quality of civic leadership, and its capacity to foster genuine dialogue and co-responsibility. This involves the evaluation seeking out influential ideas from below the level of strategic management, and documenting leadership activities of those who are skilled at ‘boundary crossing’ – for example, communicating between sectors. The evaluator can be a key player in this process, as a convenor of safe spaces for actors to come together to discuss and deliberate before returning to practice. Our approach therefore argues for a particular awareness of the political nature of policy evaluation in terms of negotiating these spaces, and the need for politically engaged evaluators who are skilled in facilitating collective learning processes.
How people and organisations can catalyse sustainable change ' We are trying our best to bring ch... more How people and organisations can catalyse sustainable change ' We are trying our best to bring change but we can't do it, and tackle wider social problems, alone. So we want you to work with us. ' (Purent Oduor * , Mathare, Nairobi, Spatial Collective 2013) Work with us The Participate initative
Latin Americans working at the community level would not use the term 'community development... more Latin Americans working at the community level would not use the term 'community development'. They would find it a little vacuous, empty of the political content which communities need to 'develop', or as they might put it: gain voice and power, challenge ...
Latin Americans working at the community level would not use the term 'community development... more Latin Americans working at the community level would not use the term 'community development'. They would find it a little vacuous, empty of the political content which communities need to 'develop', or as they might put it: gain voice and power, challenge ...
Disadvantaged by where you live?Neighbourhood governance in contemporary urban policy, 2007
... Login |, Neighbourhoods, democracy and citizenship. Howard, J. and Sweeting, D. (2007) Neighb... more ... Login |, Neighbourhoods, democracy and citizenship. Howard, J. and Sweeting, D. (2007) Neighbourhoods, democracy and citizenship. In: Smith, I., Lepine, E. and Taylor, M., eds. Disadvantaged by where you live? Neighbourhood governance in contemporary urban policy. ...
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