title: Community psychology and transformative policy change in the neo-liberal era.
abstract: I present ideas about how community psychologists, as researcher-activists, can influence public policy. I begin by describing the current neo-liberal era, noting the immense obstacles it poses to progressive policy change. Next I contrast two approaches to understanding policy formation, evidence-based policy and discursive policy analysis, and argue that transformative policy change can benefit from both approaches. I then propose three types of policy outcomes that community psychology research and activism should aim to promote: (a) shaping problem definition, (b) controlling channels for debate and participation, and (c) allocating resources. I use examples from community psychologists' involvement in policy, mostly in Canada, to illustrate how such policy change can be both achieved and constrained. I conclude by discussing implications for theory and practice related to policy change.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3C5, Canada, gnelson@wlu.ca.
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nelson
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D003256:Community Participation; D003254:Consumer Advocacy; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D011057:Politics; D011584:Psychology; D012922:Social Change