The Practice of Local Policymaking: Understanding Decision Maker Roles and Agency in Local Implementation Contexts

This dissertation presents three studies that, collectively, seek to contribute to our understanding of the practice of implementation policymaking grounded in the experience of the practitioner. Herein, policymaking is conceptualized as a shared set of practices enacted by actors purposefully engaged in collective performances. This thesis makes important contributions to the iterative processes of theorizing by advancing knowledge about local policymaking practices in the following ways: 1) creation of the Knowledge Enactment in Practice Settings (KEPS) framework as a guide to assist in the exploration of knowledge-based practices including the co-creation of context; 2) use of new insights informed by the KEPS tool to examine and re-examine existing expectations around collaboration and local governance in implementation policymaking; and 3) a more substantial and nuanced understanding of the experience of decision makers practicing together within co-created settings.In the first of the three papers, an interpretive synthesis included 35 studies that examined local policymaking to create representations of the types and sources of information and knowledge used, and key knowledge-based roles and activities. Based on this synthesis, an original framework (KEPS) was created. The KEPS framework depicted different aspects of the collective knowledge work of local policymakers which are explored in the following papers. The second paper explored the co-creation of practice in a lead-agency dominated setting within a multi-level implementation project in the Province of Ontario. The experience of dominance and the potential for a culture of inequality as well as the importance of balance, flexibility and the development of trust for collaboration are discussed. In the third paper, an exploration of how engaged actors function within the practice setting described in the previous paper highlighted the role of power, resources and hierarchical accountability as well as the importance of meaningful engagement. Together, the three studies demonstrated the use of the KEPS framework in the exploration of knowledge enactment settings. Use of the KEPS framework supports the development of a more nuanced understanding of how engaged, local actors experience practice and highlights the need for greater awareness of the ongoing co-creation of practice settings.