Water Managers' Boundary Judgments and Adaptive Water Governance. An Analysis of the Dutch Haringvliet Sluices Case

__Abstract__ In this paper, we explore how managing actors' boundary judgments influence the adaptability of water governance. We approach this question by examining the relationship between the way water managers frame, and act in, complex water issues on the one hand and develop adaptive water governance strategies on the other. We define four categories of boundary judgments made by water managers in order to deal with the complexities in water governance issues. An in-depth case study analysis of an attempt to adjust the management of the water regime in the south-west Delta of the Netherlands is provided in order to reconstruct the water managers' boundary judgments and their impact upon governance strategies used. We found that, most of the time, the water managers involved predominantly made tight boundary judgments. These tight boundary judgments seemed to hamper the mutual learning process among a variety of stakeholders that is needed to realize adaptive water governance. We argue that wide boundary judgments enhance the chance of realizing adaptive practices and build upon exploration, learning, and connection

Evaluating strategic environmental assessment in the Netherlands: Content, process and procedure as indissoluble criteria for effectiveness

To assess the effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) we distinguish between its contribution to the quality of the ultimate policy choice (usefulness, applicability), the procedural quality of the planning process (transparency, timeliness) and the quality of stakeholder participation in the planning process (openness, equity, dialogue). In the context of two case studies involving Dutch planning practice, we argue that when and how an SEA is applied is crucial to understanding its e

Definitiestudie afwegingskader : naar een klimaatbestendig Nederland : definitiestudie Fase 1, kaders voor afweging

Onzekerheid over (omvang en tempo van) de gevolgen van klimaatverandering vormt een essentieel punt bij beslissingen over de ruimtelijke inrichting. De mate waarin en de snelheid waarmee veranderingen optreden zijn niet precies bekend. Een afwegingskader geeft de overheid en de planontwikkelaar instrumenten in handen om de risico’s, de kansen, de kosten en de baten van klimaatadaptatie op verschillende onderscheiden thema’s inzichtelijk te maken. Afwegen: hoe doe je dat. Daarvoor wordt in drie stappen een kader voor gegeven

Trust in governance networks: Its impacts on outcomes

__Abstract__ Governance networks are characterized by complex interaction and decision making, and much uncertainty. Surprisingly, there is very little research on the impact of trust in achieving results in governance networks. This article asks two questions: (a) Does trust influence the outcomes of environmental projects? and (b) Does active network management improve the level of trust in networks? The study is based on a Web-based survey of respondents involved in environmental projects. The results indicate that trust does matter for perceived outcomes and that network management strategies enhance the level of trust

Complexity Theory for a New Managerial Paradigm: A Research Framework

In this work, we supply a theoretical framework of how organizations can embed complexity management and sustainable development into their policies and actions. The proposed framework may lead to a new management paradigm, attempting to link the main concepts of complexity theory, change management, knowledge management, sustainable development, and cybernetics. We highlight how the processes of organizational change have occurred as a result of the move to adapt to the changes in the various global and international business environments and how this transformation has led to the shift toward the present innovation economy. We also point how organizational change needs to deal with sustainability, so that the change may be consistent with present needs, without compromising the future

The interpretations and uses of fitness landscapes in the social sciences

__Abstract__ This working paper precedes our full article entitled “The evolution of Wright’s (1932) adaptive field to contemporary interpretations and uses of fitness landscapes in the social sciences” as published in the journal Biology & Philosophy (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10539-014-9450-2). The working paper features an extended literature overview of the ways in which fitness landscapes have been interpreted and used in the social sciences, for which there was not enough space in the full article. The article features an in-depth philosophical discussion about the added value of the various ways in which fitness landscapes are used in the social sciences. This discussion is absent in the current working paper. Th

Societal Innovation: between dream and reality lies complexity

Jan Rotmans (1961) is one of the founders of Integrated Assessment (IA), and has outstanding experience in IA modeling, scenario-building, uncertainty management and transition management. During the past twenty years he has led a diversity of innovative projects in the field of climate change, global change, sustainable development and transitions and system innovations. He is founder and director of the International Centre for Integrative Studies (ICIS) (1998) at Maastricht University. Since 2004 he is a full professor in Transitions and Transition Management at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where he founded the DRIFT-institute: Dutch Research Institute For Transitions. He is vice-president of The Integrated Assessment Society (TIAS), and founder and director of the Dutch Knowledge Network on System Innovations and Transitions (KSI). Jan Rotmans is founder of two scientific journals, Environmental Modeling and Assessment and Integrated Assessment, and has published ten books and more than 150 peer-reviewed scientific articles in journals and books in the fields of environment, sustainability, governance, transitions and system innovations.There are no easy, off-the-shelf solutions for persistent societal problems, because these are caused by fundamental flaws in our societal systems. Such systemic errors demand radical changes in our thinking and actions, i.e. transitions and system innovations. Transitions require a long period (one to two generations), and take time, patience, money, confidence, but also courage, daring and perseverance to gain the upper hand over various types of resistance. Research into transitions is by definition multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary. For this we need knowledge and experience from systems analysis, social administration, history, innovation science, economics, business administration and technology. The nature of research into transitions is fundamental, explorative, creative and practical. A conceptual framework for research into transitions is presented that consists of four interlinked conceptual building blocks, which in turn provide an outline of a transition theory in its embryonic stages. These concepts are rooted in common notions from complexity theory, new forms of governance and social theory. Central here is the concept of transition management, for which a new management framework is developed. Transition management is an attempt to tackle persistent stubborn problems by steering them in a more sustainable direction, through a visionary, cyclical process of putting issues on the agenda, learning, orchestrating and experimenting. Not based on management and control but through clever, subtle changes and adjustments at several levels concurrently. Transition management is a very promising management concept that can initially be applied to a wide range of complex societal problems: from health care to energy provision, and from social security to mobility. Transition management can also be applied to complex processes of change in a business context.Voor hardnekkige maatschappelijke problemen bestaan geen pasklare oplossingen. Deze zijn het gevolg van weeffouten in onze maatschappelijke stelsels. Deze systeemfouten vergen radicale veranderingen in ons denken en handelen: transities en systeeminnovaties. Transities vergen een lange periode (1 à 2 generaties), en kosten tijd, geduld, geld, vertrouwen, maar ook moed, durf en doorzettingsvermogen om verschillende soorten weerstand te overwinnen. Onderzoek naar transities is per definitie multi-en interdisciplinair, waarbij kennis nodig is vanuit de systeemkunde, bestuurskunde, geschiedenis, innovatiewetenschappen, economie, bedrijfskunde en techniek. Transitieonderzoek is zowel fundamenteel, exploratief, ontwerpend en praktisch van aard. Een conceptueel kader voor transitieonderzoek wordt gepresenteerd, dat bestaat uit een viertal samenhangende conceptuele bouwstenen, die de contouren vormen van een transitietheorie in wording. Deze concepten zijn geworteld in gemeenschappelijke noties uit de complexiteitstheorie, nieuwe vormen van governance en de sociale theorie. Centraal hierin staat het concept van transitiemanagement, waarvoor een nieuw sturingsraamwerk is ontwikkeld. Transitiemanagement beoogt hardnekkige problemen bij te sturen in een meer duurzame richting, via een visionair, cyclisch proces van agenderen, leren, instrumenteren en experimenteren. Niet op basis van controle en beheersing, maar via slim, subtiel schakelen en bijsturen op meerdere niveaus. Transitiemanagement is een veelbelovend sturingsconcept wat in beginsel toepasbaar is op tal van complexe maatschappelijke problemen: van gezondheidszorg tot energievoorziening, en van sociale zekerheid tot mobiliteit. Ook in de bedrijfscontext kan transitiemanagement worden toegepast op complexe veranderingsprocessen

Once the shovel hits the ground : Evaluating the management of complex implementation processes of public-private partnership infrastructure projects with qualitative comparative analysis

Much attention is being paid to the planning of public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects. The subsequent implementation phase – when the contract has been signed and the project ‘starts rolling’ – has received less attention. However, sound agreements and good intentions in project planning can easily fail in project implementation. Implementing PPP infrastructure projects is complex, but what does this complexity entail? How are projects managed, and how do public and private partners cooperate in implementation? What are effective management strategies to achieve satisfactory outcomes? This is the fi rst set of questions addressed in this thesis. Importantly, the complexity of PPP infrastructure development imposes requirements on the evaluation methods that can be applied for studying these questions. Evaluation methods that ignore complexity do not create a realistic understanding of PPP implementation processes, with the consequence that evaluations tell us little about what works and what does not, in which contexts, and why. This hampers learning from evaluations. What are the requirements for a complexity-informed evaluation method? And how does qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) meet these requirements? This is the second set of questions addressed in this thesis