How to assess the adaptive capacity of legislation and policies

Abstract: Intuitively it is clear that institutions can both enhance and hamper the adaptive capacity of a society. But what characteristics make an institution more or less helpful for development and implementation of adaptation strategies? Based on the literature, we developed an analytical framework to assess the adaptive capacity of institutions. The Adaptive Capacity Wheel consists of six dimensions: variety, learning, autonomous ability to change, leadership, legitimacy and resources. The six dimensions were operationalised into 22 criteria and were applied to formal institutions in a content analysis. We conclude that sometimes dimensions and criteria seem to contradict each other, which is not surprising, because this reflects existing paradoxes in the governance of society. We would like to discuss the analytical instrument and its possible uses with the audience of the Amsterdam Conference

Organizational Conditions for Dealing with The Unknown Unknown Illustrated by how a Dutch water management authority is preparing for climate change

<p>The central question of this article is the extent to which organizations, governmental authorities in particular, are able to deal with the unknown unknown. Drawing on Weick's work on sensemaking, we introduce seven organizational conditions that can facilitate organizations to be reliable under trying and surprising situations. We analyse the utility of this framework by analysing how a Dutch water management authority is preparing for the unknowns of climate change, which are nearly impossible to predict and thus hard to prepare for. Our assessment reveals several strengths and weaknesses and helps to develop devices to make governmental authorities more resilient.</p>

Climate-proof planning for flood-prone areas: assessing the adaptive capacity of planning institutions in the Netherlands

Contains fulltext : 112013.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)6 januari 201315 p