Pilot Projects in Water Management: Practicing Change and Changing Practice

Pilot projects are widely applied in water management. They can be used to test risky innovations at confined scale, but can also be used to delay policy decisions or to advocate a particular innovation. In this book the phenomenon ‘pilot project’ is explored both theoretically and empirically. A framework to analyse pilot projects is developed and applied. Sixteen pilot projects conducted within the WINN innovation program in the Netherlands are analysed and three floodplain restoration pilot projects in the Rhine Basin are studied in-depth. These include the pilot projects on the floodplains of Beuningen (the Netherlands), in Polder Altenheim (Germany) and in Basel (Switzerland). Insights are developed regarding different types of pilot projects, different reasons actors have for initiating or participating in a pilot project, effects that pilot projects have on policy and practice, and factors that influence the diffusion process. By deepening understanding of pilot projects as instruments to practice changes and potentially change practices, this book contributes both to public policy theory and pilot project practice.Policy AnalysisTechnology, Policy and Managemen

Schapen verslaan machine bij beheer oevers en kanalen

Policy Analysi

Living labs for improved collaboration in river management

Policy Analysi

Handreiking Meerwaarde van Samenwerken: Een participatief instrument voor het vormen van coalities

Deze Handreiking presenteert het participatief instrument Meerwaarde van Samenwerken dat binnen de kaders van het Hoogwaterbeschermingsprogramma (HWBP) is toegepast in het gebied Noard-Fryslân Bûtendyks in opdracht van de POV Waddenzeedijken. Het instrument is geschikt voor alle situaties waarin (meer) samenwerken gewenst is, binnen of buiten de wereld van waterveiligheid. Samenwerking succesvol vormgeven is niet vanzelfsprekend, het is vaak nieuw, soms eng en brengt risico’s met zich mee voor planning en budget. Tegelijkertijd is samenwerken tussen HWBP, Waterschappen en Rijkswaterstaat en andere partijen een juridische verplichting en vaak onontkoombaar. Samenwerken kan winst opleveren, denk aan ‘bouwen met natuur’ oplossingen die meerdere functies bedienen. Zoeken naar de mogelijke win-win oplossingen is tevens het uitgangspunt van Meerwaarde van Samenwerken: samenwerken gaat vooral werken als het alle partijen meer oplevert dan de huidige situatie. No regret dus en rekening houdend met de belangen van de partijen. De Handreiking Meerwaarde van Samenwerken geeft een praktische richting hoe het instrument te gebruiken aan de hand van een beschrijving van de voorbereiding en vijf processtappen (Figuur 0.1.1). Na een kennismaking brengen partijen de kansen voor samenwerken in beeld, waarna iedere partij deze waardeert. Op basis van de individuele waarderingen wordt de meerwaarde van samenwerken voor de groep bepaald en bekeken hoe de meerwaarde van samenwerken kan worden bereikt. In gesprek gaan staat hierbij centraal, ondersteunt met speltheoretische analyses en concepten. Zo helpt dit instrument partijen om samenwerkingsmogelijkheden te verkennen door de belangrijkste elementen en kansen te identificeren en belangrijke logische consequenties te doordenken en bediscussiëren.Policy Analysi

Characterizing nature-based living labs from their seeds in the past

Nature-based living labs combine the elements of nature-based solution design with a living lab context to address social and environmental resilience challenges. There is a need to deepen insights on the characteristics of the emergent phenomenon of nature-based living labs, with respect to their predecessors. Accordingly, the paper first develops an outline of how living labs evolved into nature-based living labs, informed by bibliometric analysis. Second, the unique characteristics of nature-based living labs are identified using a systematic literature review. Finally, the core characteristics of living labs are determined, and nature-based living labs are placed within this context. Initial living labs had a strong technological focus, which proliferated into diverse application domains and regions after the European Network of Living Labs was established and expanded. Urban living labs emerged as a significant multidisciplinary and geographically specific domain, while nature-based living labs are inherently sustainability-oriented and consider ecosystem processes, interactions, and natural materials. Next, the paper identifies nine characteristics of nature-based living labs, five of which are always present, namely: (i) real-life spatial context and multi-scale, (ii) innovation and learning, (iii) user-centric, (iv) multi-actor involvement and (v) sustainability-oriented multiple benefits. Then, the four core characteristics of living labs, the variation within these characteristics, and how these align with the characteristics of nature-based living labs are clarified. Finally, the need for research on living labs across application domains and regions is highlighted, so that the global applicability of these local, user-centric, innovative approaches can be established.Multi Actor SystemsPolicy Analysi

The Productive Interaction Facility (PROD) – A National Research Infrastructure Facility

Policy Analysi

Integrated and sustainable port development in Ghana

Africa is on the rise and new ports are essential to unlock production and trade opportunities and enable future growth. A growing consensus recognizes the need for sustainable port development, aimed at finding the right balance between human, environmental and economic aspects. However, an integrated inter-disciplinary approach to sustainable port development, which embraces the four perspectives of engineering, ecology, economy and governance is lacking. The ongoing NWO-UDW project "Integrated and Sustainable Port Development in Ghana" addresses this gap. It aims to develop a generic framework and a set of tools for stakeholder inclusive design of integrated and sustainable ports in Africa. It proposes a bottom up approach whereby research in all four disciplines is directed at relevant and practical cases in Africa. The Ghanaian port of Tema has been selected as a pilot project. This paper describes the project including the underlying vision and the objectives, the work-plan and the expected project results. It also describes the results of a workshop in Ghana in July 2015 to identify needs and values of relevant stakeholders with respect to Tema port development.Rivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging EngineeringPolicy Analysi

Knowledge Management Dynamics in Offshore Wind Farms in the Netherlands

Offshore wind farm development is a is a highly complex process. The societal and political pressure to implement is high while environmental responses and future developments in the global energy network are uncertain. Moreover, many interests in maritime space are at stake. The dependency on knowledge for decision-making is high, but the capacity to use knowledge is limited. In this paper we investigate the role of ecosystem knowledge in offshore wind farm planning and management. We have identified 4 types of research arenas: (1) government driven (e.g., monitoring programs) (2) subsidized research (national or EU), (3) industrial or PPS (Public-private partnerships), and (4) research by universities. This study considers the way in which knowledge from different arenas is or could be taken up and used in policy. We identify that particularly government-driven research (monitoring) is used in policymaking. The analysis of policy documents, in-depth expert interviews and focus groups reveals that the distance between knowledge developers and knowledge users may differentiate from purely transactional relations to co-production-relations. However, co-production is rare beyond the monitoring programs directly initiated by the government agencies.Policy Analysi

Cooperating for added value: Using participatory game theory in implementing nature-based flood defences

The increasingly active role of stakeholders in the development of innovative nature-based solutions calls for appropriate instruments to support and realise added value from their involvement. In this paper we apply a newly developed instrument “Cooperation for Added Value” (Co-Add) to a study area on the Dutch coast. The instrument draws on participatory game theory and policy analysis to provide a theoretically sound structure for facilitating interactions aimed at identifying shared opportunities and potential coalitions for cooperation. The application in the case study Noard-Fryslân Bûtendyks affirmed that the Co-Add instrument systematically facilitated stakeholders in exploring potentially promising opportunities and gaining insight in the added value of engaging in diverse cooperations. Stakeholders came to understand which solutions were more achievable than others and what was needed to enable implementation in terms of collaboration, including the role of their own organization. Furthermore, social dilemmas in which a particular nature-based solution is attractive to a coalition of stakeholders but is not the most beneficial solution for a particular individual stakeholder, became clear. This represents a practical contribution to the range of participatory instruments that can be applied in societally challenging complex problems that require collaboration for their resolution.Policy Analysi

On the nature based flood defence dilemma and its resolution: A game theory based analysis

Nature-based flood defence is an innovative design alternative for achieving protection against flooding. Despite significant advancements in science, models and concepts, routine implementation beyond pilot projects remains limited. To better understand why, we have looked into the complexities of nature-based flood defence implementation and its resolutions, modelling decision-making situations using game theory in three nature-based flood defence cases: The Markermeer Dikes, the Afsluitdijk Dam and the Sand Engine. We observe that nature-based flood defence games are of a multi-level and nested nature. While the decision of whether to employ a nature-based flood defence is seemingly made at the project level, this can only happen when it is coherent with the institutional context that is determined at the policy level. A social dilemma is apparent: while a multi-functional nature-based solution is attractive to a coalition of actors, it is not the most beneficial option for individual actors. Hence, they are faced with the dilemma of opting for their maximum benefit or opting for the greater societal benefit which is less favorable to them. This social dilemma can be tackled by making ‘smart moves’, as inspired by the Sand Engine case. The nested nature of the problem requires structural change in the institutional context to enable favourable conditions for nature-based flood defence implementations.Policy Analysi