The adoption and adaptation of good practice : Cross-national knowledge transfer in placemaking using the peer review method

The transfer of knowledge is a prominent feature in transnational networks regardless of whether they are aimed at practitioners, policy makers or researchers. Yet the process of transferring knowledge between countries and organisations is poorly understood, while the inclusion of citizens in the knowledge transfer process receives very little attention. This paper makes a contribution towards closing this gap in knowledge by presenting the outcomes of transnational knowledge transfer project aimed at community engagement in placemaking processes. The paper analyses the process and the outcomes of the knowledge transfer before critically discussing the barriers and challenges that were encountered. It concludes that knowledge exchange needs to be organised not only between officials but also between them and the communities they want to engage in their home cities. The concept of shared leadership has been found to capture the dynamics of knowledge exchanges well, but to ensure that organisations benefit from the application of new knowledge shared leadership needs to be balanced with strong strategic leadership. The implications of including citizens in a learning process through which tactic knowledge is shared between officials and communities are also discussed.