Embracing the Messy Complexities of Co-Creation: A Dialogic Approach to Participatory Qualitative Inquiry

Co-creation in participatory, qualitative research has become commonplace.It supports a myriad of collaborative practices - from service-user involvement in health and social care, to community capacity-building, to bottom-up climate change projects.With its democratic ambitions, transformative power and (in some contexts) goals of social justice, co-creation has much to offer, particularly in these challenging times… but it is also complex and full of tensions. This book offers an approach which recognises - and embraces - the messy complexities of co-creation.The approach is constructive - it revolves around creating openings for multiple voices; and, in particular, the voices of people with lived experience. And it is critical - it involves integrating critical, reflexive analyses of the intrinsic tensions in co-creation into the practice of research.The book brings participatory research into dialogue with poststructuralist, social constructionist and new materialist, posthumanist