Value Deliberation: Towards mutual understanding of stakeholder perspectives in policymaking

Abstract

This research is part of the Values4Water project, which includes TU Delft, Waterschap de Dommel, Deltares, Royal HaskoningDHV and Synmind as consortium partners. Policymaking can involve as many perspectives as there are stakeholders. In case of complex societal policies, many interpretations of the problem are possible and often there is no optimal solution. Such problems have also been referred to as wicked problems. Stakeholders are increasingly participating in policymaking to ensure that all perspectives are considered. In a wicked problem, stakeholder perspectives can be so different that they are conflicting. So before a solution can be accepted, stakeholders need mutual understanding of each others’ perspectives. This thesis uses a dialogic action research approach to explore the role of values in facilitating mutual understanding by using deliberation, not necessarily to find consensus but to allow for the exploration of stakeholder perspectives.