Introduction

This chapter explores the purpose, status and utility of research in local authorities. In doing so, it examines the relationship between the types of research undertaken directly by councils and that undertaken by academics, policy think tanks and other ‘outsiders’, about councils and the wider local public sphere, and how related public policy problems are understood and addressed. It draws on examples of research about community cohesion and related policy fields in order to inform this exploration.

We write as practitioners operating at the strategic level in English local government. Although we have engaged as undergraduate and postgraduate students directly in academic research, we claim no expertise. Our stance is intentionally provocative, for while we come across academic research that we can appreciate as either having intrinsic intellectual value, or being instrumentally useful to praxis, this is unusual, given the heavy demands we face. Our working lives are circumscribed by the pressing exigencies of operating in a contested political environment, and in a dynamic urban setting characterised by myriad complex and interlocking social problems and public policy dilemmas. This requires us to combine, in Gramsci's famous maxim, ‘a pessimism of the intellect and an optimism of the will’ (Gramsci, 2005, p 175). It also results in a determined focus on making a difference to the lives of the people we serve, and as such, our appetite for intelligence is framed by an impatient demand for instrumental utility – information needs to lead to effective action. Our aim here is to stimulate debate among academics and policy analysts about how research can have a more consistent and effective impact to deepen the understanding of policymakers about these complex issues, and to have a positive impact on the salience and quality of policymaking. We hope to do this while being honest about the practical and professional barriers that make the engagement of academic researchers on projects in real-life, contested settings sometimes problematic, although not insurmountable.