LIST OF PANELS

Through prominent social movement work led by Indigenous, Black, subaltern and feminist organising, (and amplified by/documented through social media,) we have come to witness a rich breadth of anti-colonial, and critical public policy analysis that was formerly situated at the margins of policy studies. While the former voices and knowledges have always existed ontologically, policy studies as a disciplinary body did not engage them at the center, dismissing these alternative ontologies, ways of knowing and knowledges. Due to the denial of meaningful methodological engagement with these epistemic and ontological groups, their intersectional locations, as well as their distinct knowledge traditions, the production of both 'relevant' and ‘reliable’ new knowledge in policy studies has suffered.

Whereas the production of knowledge about marginalised, racialized and colonised peoples by outsider ‘experts’ and/or using methods which are foreign to them has evidently shown to produce harm and problematic outcomes in much of the literature, such practices still persist. What has to happen to address the former challenge? What changes ought to occur in policy studies research approaches for greater engagement with theories, methodological approaches and voices that span beyond the Eurocentric ones? Which practices may stay, which must change, and what will compel such changes?

Taking as a premise that further harm towards racialized, colonised and marginalised peoples globally is unacceptable, this session calls for papers which identify and critically engage with existing challenges with respect to the production of new knowledges in policy studies, when addressing policy research from both critical and anti-colonial methodological lenses. This session calls for papers which highlight research designs / frameworks that can guide policy researchers when creating new knowledges, which serve rather than harm marginalized communities. The session is additionally calling for papers which draw attention to policy research frameworks that are rooted in knowledge traditions that extend beyond the dominant ones.

Research Questions for this session are as following: What does decolonising critical policy studies research require? What does undoing harmful dominant practices of knowledge production look like? Which practices have to emerge? Which practices have to discontinue? What are examples of policy research done from a critical and anti-colonial standpoint?

Whereas the domination of positivist policy scholarship continues to be challenged through the production of post-positivist research, and whereas the production of knowledge about marginalised, racialized and colonised peoples by outsider ‘experts’ and/or using methods which are foreign to them has increasingly been shown to produce harmful and problematic outcomes, this session calls for papers which address what it takes to decolonize critical policy studies research. What does undoing harmful dominant practices of knowledge production look like? Which practices have to become more wide-spread? Which practices have to discontinue? Given that the application of critical and anti-colonial methodological approaches has emerged steadily, this session is calling for papers that either discuss such practices as they apply to policy analysis and research theoretically, and/or empirically.