ARTICULATING CO-GOVERNANCE STAKEHOLDER AGENCY IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY:

It is with great joy we see this publication on Stakeholder Agency in Rural Development Policy. This book is an outcome of a long journey, and a strong engagement and commitment by the editors, which contributes in many unique ways to our understanding of policy implementation in rural development in Vietnam. Unlike many publications the editors have involved the case study authors throughout the drafting process through a series of dialogues, seminars and write shops, thereby deepening the academic learning on the many and complex issues involved. The blend of case studies by junior and senior research students, experienced researchers and senior policy analysts in combination with a rich and detailed analysis of concepts and findings in the introduction and conclusions by the editors will make this book an excellent contribution to academic training as well as to policy and project implementation in rural development. When we started to work with the Sustainable Rural Development project in Vietnam (RDViet), rural development was given little attention in academic training and research. For the ten universities and research institutes that have been part of the project, RDViet gave unique opportunities in strengthening the capacity of planning, designing and implementing multi-disciplinary rural development research, in linking natural and social sciences, and in networking and communicating across levels from grassroots t