Participatory governance: creating space for participatory research or crowding it out? (In partnership with The Poverty Alliance)

Scotland has undergone a ‘participatory turn’ in recent years involving greater attention towards increasing the engagement of people with lived-experience in policy-making processes. This involves changing attitudes and skillsets, as well as the creation of new participatory instruments, specific events, processes, or mechanisms through which government can connect to and hear from people with lived-experience. Civil society groups have led, welcomed, and cultivated the move towards increasing participation. However social researchers have raised concerns about whether such knowledge contrast with evidence based policy making and meets expectations of rigour, analytical validity, and question the impact on qualitative and participatory research opportunities.