In this issue we take a closer look at the relationship between research, evaluation, and practice--specifically, how they interact to create stronger theory and better practice, and why it's important to understand the potential this can hold for the CYD field. We also explore some very exciting ideas and programs that demonstrate how research informs practice, and vice-versa.

Kurt Lewin, the father of social psychology and originator of participatory research, insisted that "there is nothing as practical as a good theory." By this he simply meant that if you had a good idea about how things worked in the social world, its test for "goodness" would be in its applicability to real-world situations.

It is important to acknowledge the significance of formulating a good idea, testing it, and, if it is found practical, bringing it into the realm of practice. Note, too, that one needn't be a social psychologist or expert to have a good idea. All CYD practitioners operate from an idea or set of ideas in their efforts to improve conditions for young people and the communities they live in. In this issue, for example, Eagle Eye Institute evolved from the idea that young people can learn to become urban stewards of their environment. The idea behind the Giraffe Heroes Program is that heroes are not born but are just ordinary folks like you and me who rise to the occasion when challenged.

When asked about their methods and ideas, I've often heard wonderful practitioners comment, "I don't know why I do things the way I do--I just do." Or, "It just seems right." This is not a manifestation of shyness or humility; behind the statement lurks unexamined intuition--the force that often drives practitioners to practice the way they do. Practitioners, I encourage you to consider your intuition as solid a source of "good" ideas or theory as a review of the research literature. On the other hand, unexamined intuition does not provide the grist for testing the "good" idea, for the idea remains too amorphous.

Just as author John Graham claims that anyone can be a hero, I claim that any practitioner can be--and likely is--a theorist, which is simply a person with "good" ideas. Aside from contributing to knowledge building about best practice, I'll state another practical reason for examining your ideas: enlightened self-interest. If your ideas are well thought-out, and if they are based on examined intuition and practice, you will better articulate them to funders and evaluators. You will become convincing and proactive. Further, if the evaluator doesn't "get" it, or relies on evaluation techniques that do not fit, you will know it and be able to make the appropriate corrections. In this way you will not only contribute to theory and practice building, but also, simultaneously, take control.

Evaluators and researchers must examine the traditional notion that "good" ideas are discovered only through academic research. Ideas as effete and socially detrimental as social Darwinism, racial inferiority (eugenics), women's lack of capacity in mathematics, and so on, were developed out of arcane academic research. Perhaps even more important for our discussion is this simple fact: acknowledging CYD practitioners as intuitive sources of "good" ideas opens broad new vistas to our quest for understanding how to better organize our communities and raise our youth.

As Linda Camino suggests, close collaboration between researcher, evaluator, and practitioner is critical in building youth-adult partnerships. Adding a new dimension, Greg Matysik encourages involvement of youth in participatory research. Research and Practice authors Susan J. Barkman and Krisanna L. Machtmes are working on the Internet to develop user-friendly, inexpensive methods for program evaluation. While these efforts demonstrate a promising use of the Internet, the caveat is to maintain the capacity to collaborate. Research efforts too easily become a one-way street, wherein the "experts" control what is being learned. Broader and deeper partnerships between researcher, evaluator, and practitioner--including the engagement of youth in research and evaluation design--require additional energetic work in order to advance the field of CYD.

John P. Terry, Editor-in-Chief