Sarah Marie Hall is Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of ManchesterRalitsa Hiteva is Research Fellow at the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex

• Foreword : Intersectionality in publics, policy and practice ~ Ruth IbegbunaEngaging with policy, practice and publics: an introduction ~ Sarah Marie Hall and Ralitsa Hiteva;Part I: Encounters with differenceDwarfism expectations: intersections of gender, disability and (hetero)sexuality in engagements with potential participants ~ Erin Pritchard;'You're not from 'round here, are you?': Class, accent and dialect as opportunity and obstacle in research encounters ~ Sarah Marie Hall;Part II: Experts and expertiseParticipants as experts in their own lives: researching in post-industrial, intergenerational and post-colonial space ~ Michael RichardsonEncounter(ing) spaces and experts: negotiating stakeholder relations within infrastructure research ~ Ralitsa HitevaTheorising transdisciplinary research encounters: energy and Illawarra, Australia ~ Gordon WaittPart III: Research, power and institutionsNomadic positionings: a call for critical approaches to disability policy in Canada ~ Pamela Moss and Michael J. PrinceCritic, advocate, enforcer: the multiple roles of academics in public policy ~ John Paul CatungalConclusions: encountering and building on difference ~ Ralitsa Hiteva and Sarah Marie Hall

“Focusing on the personhood of researchers and scholars, this collection addresses important practical and epistemological questions about knowledge construction and impact both within and outside of the academy. A valuable bookshelf addition for anyone interested in the research process and product and the relationship between them.” Gayle Letherby, Plymouth University and The University of Greenwich, UK