This book examines two civic initiatives in Europe and analyses their evolution through the institutionalisation of their practices, local public effects, and established models for action at broader scales. Drawing from the concepts of civic action, problematic situations, public problems, and experience, this book coins the concept of direct civic action to explore civic initiatives beyond sectorial categories. It draws from the histories, everyday activities, and encounters with new problematic situations of a Slovak and a French initiative. It analyses the institutionalisation of their internal practices, their public cultural services, the models for action they establish in broader networks of initiatives, and how institutionalisation affects their experimentation and innovation. This book uses two case studies of civic initiatives in France and Slovakia, examining how the experimental and institutionalised approaches to problematic situations of civic initiatives are associated with the generation and continuative reproduction of public goods and policies. It also explores how local initiatives establish national and international networks and models for direct civic action. This book is aimed at scholars interested in civic initiatives, urban planning, public policies, innovation studies, and urban sociology. It is intended to engage members of civic initiatives by offering insights into organisational dynamics and their impact on public issues. Furthermore, it appeals to public officials and policy-makers who aim to establish policies that promote civic initiatives and encourage direct civic action.

This book examines the progress of institutionalisation of evaluation in European countries from various perspectives. It describes both prior developments and current states of evaluation in 16 European countries and across the European Union (EU), focussing on three dimensions, namely the political, social and professional systems. These detailed country reports, which have been written by selected researchers and authors from each of the respective countries, lead to a concluding comparison and synthesis. This is the first of four volumes of the compendium The Institutionalisation of Evaluation to be followed by volumes on the Americas, Africa and Australasia. The overall aim is to provide an interdisciplinary audience with cross-country learning to enable them to better understand the institutionalisation of evaluation in different nations, world regions and different sectors.

"The book examines two civic initiatives in Europe and analyses their evolution through the institutionalisation of their practices, local public effects, and established models for action at broader scales. Drawing from the concepts of civic action, problematic situations, public problems, and experience, the book coins the concept of direct civic action to explore civic initiatives beyond sectorial categories. It draws from the histories, everyday activities and encounters with new problematic situations of a Slovak and a French initiative. It analyses the institutionalisation of their internal practices, their public cultural services, the models for action they establish in broader networks of initiatives, and how institutionalisation affects their experimentation and innovation. The book uses two case studies of civic initiatives, in France and Slovakia examining how the experimental and institutionalised approaches to problematic situations of civic initiatives are associated with the generation and continuative reproduction of public goods and policies. It also explores how local initiatives establish national and international networks and models for direct civic action. The book is aimed at scholars interested in civic initiatives, urban planning, public policies, innovation studies, and urban sociology. It is intended to engage members of civic initiatives by offering insights into organisational dynamics and their impact on public issues. Furthermore, it appeals to public officials and policymakers who aim to establish policies that promote civic initiatives and encourage direct civic action"--

This book intends to theoretically conceptualize and empirically investigate upcoming and established practices of community-based initiatives in various countries in which both citizens and governments join efforts and capacities to solve wicked issues. It aims to include and compare cases from various countries, departing from the notion that community-based initiatives take place in an institutional context of governmental structures, rules, procedures, regulations, and routines. This leads to government involvement in these initiatives and sharing the public space. Furthermore, the editors take into account what kind of leadership roles, knowledge, and resources are present and how they evolve in this collaborative or coordinative effort, which in turn can enhance the capacities of community-based initiatives. This book joins excellent researchers from renowned universities all over the world, aiming for a balance between upcoming scholars and renowned scholars in the field of community-based initiatives and governance capacity. Contributors were carefully selected on the basis of their experience in the field of community-based initiatives, citizens’ engagement and governance capacity approaches. Aimed at researchers and academics, this volume will be of interest to those in the fields of business, economics, public administration, political science, social enterprise, sociology and third sector studies.

Since the emergence of the dissident “parallel polis” in Eastern Europe, civil society has become a “new superpower,” influencing democratic transformations, human rights, and international co-operation; co-designing economic trends, security and defense; reshaping the information society; and generating new ideas on the environment, health, and the “good life.” This volume seeks to compare and reassess the role of civil society in the rich West, the poorer South, and the quickly expanding East in the context of the twenty-first century’s challenges. It presents a novel perspective on civic movements testing John Keane’s notion of “monitory democracy”: an emerging order of public scrutiny and monitoring of power.

The role of the Third Sector within European society is an extremely topical subject, as both governments and the EU continue to consider the role these organizations can play in providing essential public services. This book presents contemporary research into this emerging area, exploring the contribution of this important sector to European soci