Bridging the existing and often wide gap between high quality, relevant research and public policy development and implementation is more critical today than ever before. Jenni W. Owen and Anita M. Larson have shown us the way in this book. The insightful, clear case studies coupled with Owens and Larsons thoughtful, creative recommendations for and approaches to informing policymaking with research are extremely valuable. Their coherent and beneficial treatment of this topic adds significantly to the fast-emerging world of researcherpolicymaker partnerships.
Thomas W. Ross , President of the Volcker Alliance and President Emeritus of the University of North Carolina, USA
In a time when researcherpolicymaker partnerships are essential, this book provides helpful insights into strategies that are successfully addressing the struggles that current collaborators are experiencing. The examples illustrate dynamic relationships and the potential opportunities for successful collaborative practices. Jenni W. Owen and Anita M. Larson capture the reality that policymakers need data to inform decisions, ultimately providing a solution through broad value to federal, state, and local partnerships. This is a critical read for any researcherpolicymaker collaboration.
Missy Coffey , Applied Engineering and Management Corporation, USA
ResearcherPolicymaker Partnerships
Gone are the days when researchers, policymakers and practitioners each worked in isolation. In recent years, a few interrelated issues have emphasized the need for greater collaboration among these groups: the increased emphasis on results and accountability (particularly where public funds are at stake), the need to improve services and the growing use of technology. This book is about these all-important partnerships, specifically the relationships between those searching for evidence and those putting evidence to use, designing and implementing policy at the federal, state, or local level.
Yet the science or art of how to create partnerships and how to make them work has just begun. This book offers the reader a toolkit for effective researcherpolicymaker collaborations by exploring innovations underway around the country and developing an analytic framework to describe the process. It asks questions such as: What can we learn from these examples? How can and should partners communicate? Where should partners plan together, and where is it best to leave some separation to respect the differences in our roles? Through carefully chosen and organized case studies, this book demonstrates the motivations that lead to partnerships, the core elements of successful implementation and the lessons to be learned about sustaining these relationships. It further examines the use of research once the research phase has concluded, as well as the ever-important consideration of investing in collaboration by both nonprofit and public-sector funders.
For policymakers, this book offers a greater appreciation of the role of research in the policy process and new insights into different types of research. For researchers, the book provides insights into how best to formulate questions, how to work closely with those most affected and how to communicate findings in ways that can be more easily understood by those who are depending on clear answers. Students of public policy, public administration, social work and education will find much to inform future roles in research, policy, or practice.
Jenni W. Owen is Policy Director for North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. She is on leave from Duke Universitys Sanford School of Public Policy where she is a senior lecturer and the Director of Policy Engagement.
Anita M. Larson teaches in the Public Administration program at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA.
American Society for Public Administration Series in Public Administration & Public Policy
David H. Rosenbloom, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief
Mission: Throughout its history, ASPA has sought to be true to its founding principles of promoting scholarship and professionalism within the public service. The ASPA Book Series on Public Administration and Public Policy publishes books that increase national and international interest for public administration and which discuss practical or cutting edge topics in engaging ways of interest to practitioners, policy makers, and those concerned with bringing scholarship to the practice of public administration.
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First published 2017
by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Owen, Jenni W., editor. | Larson, Anita M., 1965- editor.
Title: Researcher-policymaker partnerships : strategies for launching
and sustaining successful collaborations / edited by Jenni W. Owen and
Anita M. Larson.
Description: New York : Routledge, [2017] | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016048451 | ISBN 9781498735216 (hbk : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781315212722 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Policy sciencesResearch. | Political planningResearch.
Classifiacation: LCC H97 .R482 2017 | DDC 320.6072dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016048451
ISBN: 978-1-4987-3521-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-21272-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
We dedicate this book to the policymakers and researchers who are partnering today, to those who are considering forming partnerships and to students across disciplinesmay they bring the spirit and practice of partnership with them into all of their future roles.
