Frames and dilemmas in multifunctional projects

Increasing population, sea level rise and changes in public spending encourage the development of multifunctional projects. Multifunctional projects integrate various functions in the same area to satisfy multiple objectives simultaneously and to combine the resources and expertise of various stakeholders. Although the involvement of multiple interdependent actors offers opportunities for the inclusion of various interests in the decision-making process, the complex organizational context of multifunctional projects makes the identification and selection of functional combination difficult. When defining and selecting functional combinations, actors often need to prioritize various functions based on the demands that they need to fulfill and the available resources for the project. Since actors belong to different sectors and administrative levels, they often have different interpretations about what is going on and what the preferred course of action is. In these settings dilemmas naturally occur. Dilemmas are situations in which actors are confronted with various options to make a choice, all being equally desirable or undesirable. Dilemmas are often associated to situations of paralysis or impasse. Not knowing what to do leads to a deadlock. However, encountering dilemmas also offers the possibility of looking at issues from different lenses, stimulating deliberation about the issue at stake from different angles. Consequently, dilemmas have the potential to foster creativity and to think about solutions that bridge seemingly competing demands. Realizing their potential requires creating awareness about dilemmas and understanding their origin. The incorporation of various interdependent actors having their own interpretations about issues at stake makes multifunctional projects an ideal case to understand the influence of frames and dilemmas in decision making. The main goal of this thesis is to unravel the role of frames in the occurrence of dilemmas in multifunctional projects

Understanding the dilemmas of multifunctional regional planning

Multifunctional projects integrate land uses to fulfill economic, environmental and social objectives. Planning multifunctional projects is complex because of the interdependence of effects and actors. When selecting functional combinations, actors often encounter dilemmas related to the project priorities. This paper draws on an earlier categorisation of dilemmas, identifying the regulation and investment dilemmas in a multifunctional case in the Dutch South West Delta. Our results show the influence of dilemmas on the course of decision making in a multifunctional project. In our case, the investment dilemma prevails because decision makers must balance the need to select functions based on earning potential while satisfying other stakeholder demands. Furthermore, we shed light on the interrelation between the regulation and investment dilemmas, given the tension of having to transform and preserve values in an area while prioritising regional demands and earning potential

Making dilemmas explicit through the use of a cognitive mapping collaboration tool

Dilemmas are pervasive in decision making. Although they offer the potential of reflecting on issues at stake from different perspectives, dilemmas often lead to paralysis for those encountering them. This study presents a three dimensional collaboration tool specifically developed to surface dilemmas in a multi-actor context. The assumption is that revealing and debating dilemmas encourage finding solutions that bridge the apparently competing demands that resulted in dilemmas in the first place. Our tool, called the ‘dilemma cube’, is based on cognitive mapping principles and allows a diversity of participants to share their interpreted actions, effects, and connections among different issues at stake. We tested our tool in a collaborative workshop for a multifunctional land use project in the Netherlands. Our results show that the ‘dilemma cube’ guided participants to share their interpretations about the project, revealing the interdependence of issues at stake. Revealing the socially-constructed nature of dilemmas in multi-actor contexts is the stepping stone to explore strategies that stimulate deliberation, and realize the opportunities of exploiting opposites in light of dilemmas

Ultrasound-assisted third-liquid phase-transfer catalyzed esterification of potassium 4-methoxyphenylacetate by dual-site phase-transfer catalyst

The catalytic esterification of potassium 4-methoxyphenylacetate to synthesize 4-methoxyphenylacetic acid butyl ester (an ether-ester compound) by ultrasound-assisted third-liquid phase- transfer catalysis (U-TLPTC) using the prepared dual-site phase transfer catalyst 1,4-bis(tributylammoniomethyl)benzene dibromide (BTBAMBB) was investigated. The catalyst BTBAMBB was synthesized from p-xylylene dibromide and tributylamine, and the catalytic intermediate was also synthesized to verify the reaction mechanism. The third-liquid phase containing more than 50% of the added catalyst was formed by introducing BTBAMBB, potassium 4-methoxyphenylacetate and a critical amount of NaCl in the aqueous phase. Without using catalyst, the reaction system was liquid-liquid type and the product was not observed. With BTBAMBB in liquid-liquid system the product yield was only 39.3% at 70C in 4 h of reaction even under sonication (28 kHz/300 W), but was increased to 94.2% by forming the third-liquid phase with NaCl at the same reaction conditions. The green process to synthesize ether-ester by U-TLPTC was developed with good catalytic efficiency of dual-site phase-transfer catalyst

The complex interplay between the institutional context and PPP project outcomes

Recent research has focused on institutional impacts on the implementation of PPP policies, specifically the role that the institutional and political context play in the process of developing PPP projects, and mostly analyzing contexts with similar institutional traditions. To contribute to the current state of the art, this paper attempts to answer the question of how the institutional environment affects project outcomes in PPP development in the road sector through a comparative analysis of two environments with very different institutional traditions - the Netherlands and Tamil Nadu (India) - but with similar project volumes and a comparable history of PPPs in the road sector. The maturity of the institutional environment for PPPs was comparable when both regions embarked upon PPP programs. However, the evolutions of the PPP environments and project outcomes have varied across these settings. To explain this, we draw upon institutional theory and structuration theory, to analyze the evolution of the institutional environment and its influence on project outcomes at different points of time. Our results show that the institutional environment influences project outcomes and that context-specific factors shape the evolution of the institutional environment in different ways in different arenas, thereby leading to different project outcomes over time, even when the initial set of institutional logics surrounding PPPs are the same across these arenas. We draw two main conclusions: 1) policy interventions contribute to the development of the institutional environment positively influencing project outcomes and 2) there is path dependent response at the institutional level to project outcomes, linked to political willingness to implement enabling policy actions to foster PPP development. These results contribute to our understanding of the evolution of PPP enabling fields over time and the complex interplay between institutional regulative mechanisms and outcomes on project level