Policy Planning Research for Sustainability in Asian Contexts

Published date01 September 2019
Date01 September 2019
DOI10.1177/0019556119840955
Subject MatterSpecial Edition Introduction
Policy Planning
Research for
Sustainability in
Asian Contexts
The papers included in this special edition were originally presented at the 2017
fourth international conference of the Exploring Leadership and Learning
Theories in Asia (ELLTA) academic network. The theme of this special edition
policy planning research for sustainability in Asian context emerged from a
number of the papers which did not fit into other more specialised publication
themes (i.e., from the general conference focus on perspectives on leadership,
learning and social enterprise in Asia). The special edition theme emphasises
how policy research and sustainability studies represent an interdisciplinary focus
on topics of public and policymaker interest which all academics from different
areas can collaboratively link their specialised studies, interests and disciplinary
backgrounds.
So, this special edition represents an example of such interdisciplinary conver-
gence and also how academics might seek to go beyond their normal specialised
audiences—to both generate additional policy-related publications and engage
in interesting and useful knowledge exchange in the policy domains of society
and commerce as well as government decision-making and planning (Richards
& Padfield, 2016). As epitomised by the importance placed on the sustainable
development goals by global society as well as the United Nations and various
national governments, ‘policy studies’ represents an increasingly important focus
of the future university (Richards & Farokniah, 2016). It is an emerging inter-
disciplinary field which can complement or add to existing specialised academic
knowledge, research and applied projects to generate additional publications and
promote interdisciplinary collaborative projects (Richards, 2015). This helps to
better communicate the importance of university knowledge and inquiry to a non-
academic audience including decision-makers or policy-builders as well as the
wider community.
The theme of policy planning research for sustainability in Asian contexts
exemplifies a particularly relevant insight as well as practical programme of the
‘quadruple helix’ innovation theory model. This is how academics—and higher
education institutions such as universities more generally—can be and perhaps
should be seen as an important ‘macro stakeholder’ in the global challenge of
optimising and innovating sustainable and integrated human responses to a
changing world with endless leadership dilemmas, crises and challenges more
Special Edition Introduction
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
65(3) 607–610, 2019
© 2019 IIPA
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DOI: 10.1177/0019556119840955
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