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This paper describes how the processes of evaluation interact with the complex processes of policy and implementation, with a view to exploring the implications relating to the nature of evidence, the impact of evaluation on policy and practice and the challenges inherent in evaluation activities. Recent studies of evaluation and evidence-based policy have suggested that there are significant issues and complexities in determining 'what works' specifically with regard to the impact of evaluations and the evidence bases for policy and/or practice. The aim of this paper is to examine a detailed case in which these three activities of policy formulation, implementation and evaluation have evolved and interacted in a particular policy domain over time. To this end we examine homeless policy, implementation, outcomes and evaluation in Ireland between 1988, the year 'homelessness' was defined first in legislation, and 2008, the year of launching the second national homeless strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role and impact of the private sector in urban regeneration and social housing in Ireland in the context of a shift towards mixed market models adopted by governments in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. A complex adaptive systems (CAS) framework is used to analyse six case studies in urban regeneration in order to coherently address complexities related to heterogeneous objectives, issues of interdependencies among actors, system dynamics, emergence and adaptation over time. Key findings include: (1) the lack of influence by the private sector over key elements such as boundaries, rules and objectives for urban regeneration in Ireland, (2) a relatively narrow focus on the physical aspects of regeneration, with little support from either the public or community sectors for a wider role, (3) a trade-off between decreasing costs borne by the taxpayer and increasing costs to social housing tenants, (4) the emergence of special project agents to facilitate 'covenanting' among participants (Klijn & Teisman, 1997) and (5) the potential for a 'tipping point' in private sector participation (Rhodes & Murray, 2007). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the processes and outcomes of community involvement in six Irish urban regeneration case studies, three in Dublin and three in Belfast. The findings are part of a wider study using a Complex Adaptive Systems perspective to analyse public sector decision making. Key points included: (1) the community 'vision' of the regeneration as an emergent property, which converged towards the vision held by the implementing agencies in the four most successful programmes; and (2) the identification of three features that contribute to non-linear (unpredictable) behaviour: a history of community involvement; the availability of resources; and the intervention of key individuals at crisis points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the strategy choices of various agents in the housing system in the Republic of Ireland with a view to understanding the range of choices and the environmental factors that drive strategy and outcomes in the housing domain. Using a complex adaptive systems (CAS) framework, the strategic decisions in 50 different organizations are analysed to identify types of agents, strategies employed and decision factors. In addition, the system outcomes that both affect and are affected by agent behaviour are identified. The careful elaboration of each of these components of the housing system provides insight into the dynamics of a "whole" system of housing that spans public, private and non-profit providers as well as those organizations involved in influencing housing policy. As such, the article applies a new analytical framework to the phenomenon of policy networks in housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies “organizational field” analysis to compare the structure of the third sector housing fields in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Following preliminary accounts of history, structure, funding, and regulation, four key dimensions of field structure are compared: interaction, subgroups, structural equivalence, and patterns of domination. In both fields studied, early steering by the state into specialist roles has been overtaken by state funded expansion in general needs housing—increasing the dominance of larger organizations and tensions around voluntary sector identity. However, differences remain in the extent of domination and tightness of field structure, with greater emphasis on “whole organization regulation,” and adherence to professional and trade bodies in Northern Ireland. It is also shown how cross-border activity and the espousal of a “European model” will influence future trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geographer's contribution to the study of religious phenomena is of special importance under circumstances in which scholars representing various disciplines tend to make generalizations based on a few, possibly nonrepresentative examples. The understanding of contemporary Western European pilgrimage is currently clouded by lack of generally available data on continental shrines and a tendency toward overreliance on Irish cases without adequate consideration of the highly atypical nature of the Irish pilgrimage tradition. This paper, grounded in data on 5,130 currently active Roman Catholic shrines in Western Europe, provides a cultural-historical explanation for the uniqueness of Irish pilgrimage and analyzes the major structural differences between Irish pilgrimage traditions and those found elsewhere in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]