Table of contents

4. Methodology and work process:
how ENTRUST worked

The methodology of a thematic network has to take into account expectations both of the participants and of external European audiences. Employing appropriate investigation principles necessarily involves a complex work process, which can nonetheless result in a structured system of products.

Transnational learning in EU networks

A tension exists within any team composed of practitioners and researchers working on the analysis of urban human services: between the interest of the involved actors in the improvement of their own practice interventions (an 'insider' interest), and in the transfer of innovation in policy and practice (an 'outsider' interest). This corresponds to a similar tension in differences in knowledge interest: solving problems in individual cases ('particularisation') or providing broadly applicable lessons ('generalisation'). These two expectations become compounded in their complexity when situated in the trans-national context of an EU thematic network. European networking programs have proved valuable for the participants and organisations involved, but the pay-off for broader learning communities has often been modest. In order to increase the effectiveness of trans-national programs in human services and urban policies, networks need to go beyond recognising 'insider' interests (in promoting transnational learning within a team of actors from different member states) and to place a stronger emphasis on the 'outsider' interests (generating transferable knowledge and products that can be disseminated out of such learning).

This involves targeting messages at a number of levels: at the level of urban governance (legislation/policies); at the organisational – including city administrations and their departments, as well as enterprises (cultures/values); and at the level of the professional culture of the relevant practitioners (practices / skills).