Communicative capacity : public encounters in participatory theory and practice One. Introduction: communicating in participatory practicePublic encounters in participatory democracy Plan of the book Two. Public encounters in participatory democracy: towards communicative capacity Participatory democracy: from democratic political theory to practice Public encounters: the in between of public professionals and citizens Communicative capacity: theory and practice Summary Three. Studying narratives of participatory practice How public encounters in practice can illuminate theory Narrative analysis: examining what happens in between Grounded theory: dialogical analysis of practice Final remarks Four. Communicative patterns: what happens when public professionals and citizens meet Glasgow: making it work Amsterdam: being in touch Bologna: canalising Summary and implications: communicative patterns and capacity Five. Work in progress: engaging with the situation Glasgow: starting from scratch Amsterdam: getting to grips Bologna: breaking new ground Summary and implications: communicative capacity and work in progress Six. Struggling: discussing the substantive issues at hand Glasgow: taking a stance Amsterdam: under the skin Bologna: nuts and bolts Summary and implications: communicative capacity and struggling Seven. Making connections: building and maintaining relationships Glasgow: converting each other Amsterdam: approaching each other Bologna: keeping distance Summary and implications: communicative capacity and making connections Eight. Conclusion: communicative capacity In participatory theory and practice Public encounters in participatory theory and practice Theory and practice of communicative capacity Implications for participatory theory Nine. Recommendations: communicative capacity in practice and policy Communicative capacity in practice Policy for communicative capacity Learning and change.