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Let's ban the lazy language of 'best practice'. An exploration of how to enhance the effectiveness of international city-to-city learning

Hambleton, Robin

Abstract

This paper sets out five reasons why there is no such thing as ‘best practice’ when it comes to international city-to-city learning and dialogue. The paper then widens the conversation to consider the nature of international exchange and distinguishes three levels of analysis: 1) Ideological and political forces; 2) Ideas in good currency; and 3) The agency exercised by place-based leaders. It will be suggested that much international comparative research spotlights national policies and practices and, as a result, is in danger of failing to recognise the very rapid rise of influential patterns of international, place-to-place exchange now taking place below the level of the nation state. The concept of lesson drawing is then introduced and, provided this focuses on ‘relevant practice’, not ‘best practice’, it provides a promising way forward for comparative action/research. A framework for understanding the various dimensions of international lesson drawing is presented, and it is hoped that this might be helpful to those interested to design and develop cross-national policy exchanges in the future. A final section discusses how to move beyond ‘best practice’ and arrive at ‘relevant practice’. It considers the emerging prospects for international city-to-city learning and suggests that universities could be far more active in helping local stakeholders develop more rigorous approaches to relevant international lesson drawing.

Citation

Hambleton, R. (2018, June). Let's ban the lazy language of 'best practice'. An exploration of how to enhance the effectiveness of international city-to-city learning. Paper presented at Reconciling past and future urban and regional strengths. Annual Conference of the European Urban Research Association (EURA), Tilburg, The Netherlands

Presentation Conference Type Conference Paper (unpublished)
Conference Name Reconciling past and future urban and regional strengths. Annual Conference of the European Urban Research Association (EURA)
Conference Location Tilburg, The Netherlands
Start Date Jun 21, 2018
End Date Jun 23, 2018
Acceptance Date Mar 30, 2018
Publication Date Jun 1, 2018
Deposit Date Jun 4, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Peer Reviewed Not Peer Reviewed
Keywords best practice, international exchange, public innovation, city leadership, lesson drawing
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/867164
Additional Information Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Reconciling past and future urban and regional strengths, Annual Conference of the European Urban Research Association (EURA)

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