Research and Policy in Ethnic Relations: Compromised Dynamics in a Neoliberal Era (Contemporary Issues in Social Policy)

In the field of ethnic relations the complex, often tortuous, interactions among academic researchers, research funders and those who use the research often result in social policy interventions that are poorly conceived and flawed in their implementation. In this unique book, the contributors seek to develop a dialogue about the multiple constraints that skew research and its findings, and to kick-start a wider debate about the political context of current research and policy. In doing so, they aim to produce a renewed awareness of the current links between research and social policy in ethnic relations and to provide a critically reflexive basis for shaping interventions. It will be of interest to academics working in higher and further education as well as to students at higher undergraduate and postgraduate level, and to a wide range of people working in ethnic relations policy fora. RESEARCH AND POLICY IN ETHNIC RELATIONS Contents Notes on contributors Acknowledgements Introduction Political context Neoliberal context Practical realities of research input into policy Epistemic communities and the creation of ‘knowledge’ Outline of the book 1. Constraint and compromise: university researchers, their relation to funders and to policymaking for a multiethnic Britain Introduction Background Universities as a locus for research Research centres within the university structure The definers of research agendas and guarantors of research quality Researchers and communities of interest and non-governmental organisations Conclusion 2. ‘Hating to know’: government and social policy research in multicultural Australia Research and community: the academy and the state Ground rules Jean Martin, the migrant presence, and the first Vietnamese refugees Researching social change: an author’s personal perspective Facilitation and destruction of communities of knowledge Theorising harmony Social inclusion and social research Conclusion 3. In-group identity and the challenges of ethnographic research Introduction: racialising reality Social science interventions into critiquing race and racism Ethnographic research and the deconstruction of racisms and lived inequalities Identity and research practice Politics and practice of ethnography: some reflections Conclusion 4. Anthros and pimps doing the God trick: researching Muslim young people ‘Theyification’ Is there a defensible, ethically viable external gaze? Challenge of biography of the insider voice 5. Reflections of a research funder Introduction About JRF: heritage, identity and values Who sets the JRF agenda? Digging deeper: how we develop programmes Act and arts of research funding Connections and collaborations Devolution and divergence Equalities and diversities Involvement and participation Costed solutions Relations of research production: the funder and the funded Funding research to inform public policy and practice Conclusion 6. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights: linking research, policy and practice Introduction Background to the establishment of the FRA Examining the obligations of duty bearers and the experiences of rights holders... Delivering policy-driven and policy-relevant research and analysis... Based on objective, reliable and comparable data... Enhancing data comparability across the EU for ‘hard-to-reach’ population groups... Providing targeted and effective evidence-based advice... In conclusion... 7. The value of research for local authorities: a practitioner perspective Introduction Nature of the place and its people Bradford Council’s purpose and policy context Managing ‘social cohesion’ Self-segregation Conclusion Bibliography Index This title provides a critical discussion of the fault lines in the contemporary relationship between university based researchers, research funders, and the policy sector in the production and utilisation of research to inform policy and practice in ethnic relations. Drawing upon an international range of expert contributions from academics, those working in NGOs and the public sector, the detailed case studies and theoretical analysis provide challenges to both academics and policy makers to think differently about how to develop better policy agendas in this complex field This unique book explores the interaction between the academic research community and those who use its research to inform their social policy interventions, thus raising awareness of the linkages between research and social policy, particularly in the area of ethnic relations. This unique book explores the interaction between the academic research community and those who use its research to inform their social policy interventions, thus raising awareness of the linkages between research and social policy in particular in the area of ethnic relations.