Unpacking policy transfer as a situated practice: blending social, spatial, and sensory learning at a conference

Abstract

ABSTRACT Conferences are theorized as crucial sites, not only for professional development, but also for policy learning. However, little empirical evidence has examined pathways for why and how learning is realized. Using a unique case approach, this paper unravels conference learning dimensions by combining literatures of policy transfer and policy mobilities with situated learning theory. Our case was a four-day international conference on cycling, taking place in the Netherlands, a country well-known for high rates of cycling and commonly sought for advice on cycling policy. Using a questionnaire with participants (n = 293) together with ethnographic fieldwork, we examine key attributes. Structure for fieldwork derived from situated learning theory, where learning is a social phenomenon embedded in sensory and spatial circumstances. Findings demonstrate that acquiring technical understanding (i.e. design specifications, sample policy language) was less prominent than the acquisition of social and experiential knowledge. Additionally, the bicycle acted as a sensorimotor transition instrument for spatial discovery, evoking emotion, and social connection. The conference represented an opportunity to convene both tacit and explicit knowledge, where an embodied experience (for example, riding a bicycle in the Netherlands) may also act as critical asset to professional development in this emerging practice. The paper adds to the debate about learning in transport policy practice by unfurling contextual mechanisms and engaging with practitioners in “their world” – an ordinary practice of attending a conference in a unique location.