REGENERATIVE EDUCATION AND EXPERIMENTAL GOVERNANCE
UNIVERSITIES AS INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURES FOR PUBLIC CAPACITY BUILDING
Keywords:
Regenerative education; Experimental governance; Public capacity Building; Action research; Evidence-based public policy.Abstract
This article examines how public capacity regeneration can be promoted when education is conceived as an institutional and governance infrastructure. Drawing on theories of experimental governance, law in action, and institutional capacity building, the study argues that universities can operate as regenerative devices by integrating problem-oriented pedagogy, theory of change, and territorially situated interventions. Using insider action research conducted within the context of FGV Cidades, the article analyzes an applied educational experiment in the field of sustainable public-private action, focused on addressing complex urban-environmental challenges at the subnational level. Empirical evidence derives from institutional documents, participant observation, and reflexive artifacts generated throughout the training process, particularly the logical models developed by participating teams. The findings demonstrate how education can function as a social and institutional technology capable of activating inter-institutional collaboration, reorganizing legal-economic-operational arrangements, and strengthening public capacities in fragmented policy environments. The article concludes by proposing a replicable analytical framework for regenerative educational practices oriented toward evidence-based and territorially grounded public policy solutions.
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