Learning from Collaborative Research in Water Management Practice

In order to deal with complex water management problems, it is increasingly claimed that researchers should collaborate with authorities and other stakeholders. According to the literature, such collaboration can enhance cognitive learning about the issues at stake, but there is little empirical evidence for this. In this paper, we assess...

Does collaboration enhance learning?The challenge of learning from collaborative water management research

Does collaboration between researchers and other stakeholders enhance mutual cognitive learning?  To answer this question, this thesis analyzes two research processes concerning future flood management in the Lower Rhine basin and groundwater management in and around Delft. The  results suggest that only intensive collaboration enhances learning...

Identification of stakeholder perspectives on future flood management in the Rhine basin using Q methodology

OA fund TU Delft This article identifies different stakeholder perspectives on future flood management in the downstream parts of the Rhine basin in Germany and The Netherlands. The perspectives were identified using Q methodology, which proved to be a good, but time-intensive, method for eliciting and analyzing stakeholder perspectives in a...

Seven rules for researchers to increase their impact on the policy process

OA fund TU Delft This paper addresses the question of how hydrologists and other researchers can contribute most to water management practice. It reviews the literature in the field of science and technology studies and research utilization and presents the results in the form of seven "rules" for researchers. These are (1) Reflect on the nature...

Assessing Management Regimes in Transboundary River Basins: Do They Support Adaptive Management?

River basin management is faced with complex problems that are characterized by uncertainty and change. In transboundary river basins, historical, legal, and cultural differences add to the complexity. The literature on adaptive management gives several suggestions for handling this complexity. It recognizes the importance of management regimes...