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The terms social constructionism and (social) constructivism are employed in the context of different problematics and different philosophical assumptions. This article presents 'relational constructionism' as a social science perspective. The perspective centres language-based relational processes as they (re)construct more or less local relational realities. The latter includes western individualism and its construction of the bounded, separately existing individual relating to a separately existing other where 'other' is everything which is not self; this has been called 'hard' self-other differentiation. The perspective of relational constructionism allows that 'soft' self-other differentiation also is possible — for example, in the practice of relationally engaged inquiry and change work. Relational constructionism, as outlined here, has a number of distinctive features: it clearly speaks about ontology and power (unlike many other constructionisms); it centres and gives ontology to construction processes (to how, rather than what) and sees persons and worlds as emerging in processes (rather than assuming individual minds and actions); it opens up the possibility of soft self-other differentiation (rather than assuming that 'hard differentiation is 'how it really is'); and it centres dialogical practices as ways of relating that can enable and support multiple local forms of life rather than imposing one dominant rationality on others.

This book bridges scholarly forms of inquiry and practitioners' daily activities. It introduces inquiry as a process of relational construction, offering resources to practitioners who want to reflect on how their work generates practical effects. There are hundreds of books on research, but in keeping with social scientific traditions, many emphasize method and neglect broader, overarching assumptions and interests. Further, most are written in ways that speak to those in the academic community and not to a wider audience of professionals and practitioners. The present text lays out relationa.

Appreciative inquiry (AI) has become increasingly popular as a social constructionist approach to organizational change and development. Many claims are made about its status and value but there are few published evaluation studies. Furthermore, some interesting and important issues arise as to how AI can be evaluated appropriately – given its social constructionist context. The heart of our argument is that AI could appropriately and usefully be evaluated using the approach of 'responsive evaluation'. We lay out our views by putting forward a particular, relational, narrative of social construction processes. We then draw upon this relational narrative to develop three themes. One theme is that both AI and social constructionism should be viewed as variable social constructions and not fixed 'things'. This means that AI manifests in many different ways in different local-cultural and local-historical contexts. 1 A related theme is that, if theory and method co-define one another, then AI is much more than just a method. Finally, viewing evaluation as a variable social construction suggests that some evaluation practices will be more consistent with the premises of relational constructionism and AI than others. These themes are developed in several parts. In the first, we briefly introduce AI, the links that have been made between it and social constructionism, and potential implications of these links for evaluation. In the second, we outline the defining premises of relational constructionism. In the third, we examine AI, its multiple meanings, and its central premises. We then explore links between relational constructionism and AI. This brings us to the fifth part in which we introduce evaluation and its potential relations with AI. Finally, we write of how AI and evaluation could be performed in ways that reflect relational constructionist premises.

This book examines how governments, non-profit and private organizations, and local networks understand the connections between public values and social issues. Western societies face complex social issues and a growing diversity of views on how these should be addressed. The traditional view focuses on government and public policy but neglects the initiatives that non-profit and private organizations and local networks take. This book presents a broader variety of viewpoints and theories. Looking at various cases, the authors analyse conflicting values and interests, actors' understandings of the public values related to social issues, and their action to create what they regard as public value. Drawing together these perspectives the authors point the way to how government and the private and voluntary sectors can work in tandem to resolve social issues. The study will prove insightful for researchers and students in fields such as governance studies, public administration, public sector management, organization studies, non-profit and voluntary organizations, civil society, public policy, social policy and social issues in management. The policy focus of the book will also draw the interest of policy makers in governmental and non-governmental organizations