Governance experimentation and factors of success in socio-technical transitions in the urban water sector

Bos, Joannette Jacqueline; Brown, Rebekah Ruth

doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2012.04.006

Cited by 176 publications

(151 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Societal change 330 refers to the creation of new or transformation of existing networks and organizations, values 331 and norms, rules and policies, decision-making processes, behavior and practices, and 332 discourses, often radically different from existing ones (Bos and Brown, 2012;Davies and 333 Doyle, 2015;. Societal changes induced by experiments include 334 changed norms , policies , mobility 335 practices , and political discourses .…”

Section: Changes In Societal Realms 329mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…results. This can concern system-wide applications through "scaling out" in the initial system, 385 or applications at a larger system level through "scaling up" (Bos and Brown, 2012;Ceschin, 386 2014;Smith et al, 2014;). In both cases, translating and applying small-scale processes into 387 a larger scale entails collaboration with more actors as well 388 as translational competence (Smith, 2007 …”

Section: Facilitate Up-take 346mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…reported by Bos and Brown (2012). Participants' commitment facilitated a meaningful 695 dialogue between different interests, which resulted in political commitment towards the 696 initiative.…”

Section: Commitment 683mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Support refers to structural, financial and nonfinancial resources as well as assistance from 734 public and private authorities in preparing and executing sustainability transition experiments 735 (Bos and Brown, 2012;Vandevyvere and Nevens, 2015). It also includes voluntary and in-736 kind contributions and donation of work beyond normal obligations (Moore et al, 2005;Wiek 737 et al, 2015).…”

Section: Support 733mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Learning through evaluation – A tentative evaluative scheme for sustainability transition experiments

Luederitz

Schäpke

Wiek

et al. 2017

Journal of Cleaner Production

263

203

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Transitions towards sustainability are urgently needed to address the interconnected challenges of economic development, ecological integrity, and social justice, from local to global scales. Around the world, collaborative science-society initiatives are forming to conduct experiments in support of sustainability transitions. Such experiments, if carefully designed, provide significant learning opportunities for making progress on transition efforts. Yet, there is no broadly applicable evaluative scheme available to capture this critical information across a large number of cases, and to guide the design of transition experiments. To address this gap, the article develops such a scheme, in a tentative form, drawing on evaluative research and sustainability transitions scholarship, alongside insights from empirical cases. We critically discuss the scheme's key features of being generic, comprehensive, operational, and formative. Furthermore, we invite scholars and practitioners to apply, reflect and further develop the proposed tentative scheme -making evaluation and experiments objects of learning.

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Section: Changes In Societal Realms 329mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Facilitate Up-take 346mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Commitment 683mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Support 733mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Learning through evaluation – A tentative evaluative scheme for sustainability transition experiments

Luederitz

Schäpke

Wiek

et al. 2017

Journal of Cleaner Production

263

203

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To date, conceptual and empirical work on policy learning and experimentation has been mostly limited to in-depth qualitative studies and theoretical discussion, which has most commonly found that while experiments produce new knowledge and understanding of how innovations affect the social, technical, and/or ecological systems, deeper normative learning changes are lacking in experiments [7,9,[14][15][16][17]. Learning scholars have made concerted efforts to find out how learning is produced in broader collective settings and have demonstrated that both agent-based and process factors influence learning outcomes; for example, who is involved, the organiser's competence, the sort of information that is produced and how it is made available, the use of technology, and the extent of representativeness [5,[18][19][20][21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stimulating Learning through Policy Experimentation: A Multi-Case Analysis of How Design Influences Policy Learning Outcomes in Experiments for Climate Adaptation

McFadgen

Huitema

2017

Water

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Abstract:Learning from policy experimentation is a promising way to approach the "wicked problem" of climate adaptation, which is characterised by knowledge gaps and contested understandings of future risk. However, although the role of learning in shaping public policy is well understood, and experiments are expected to facilitate learning, little is known about how experiments produce learning, what types of learning, and how they can be designed to enhance learning effects. Using quantitative research methods, we explore how design choices influence the learning experiences of 173 participants in 18 policy experiments conducted in the Netherlands between 1997 and 2016. The experiments are divided into three "ideal types" that are expected to produce different levels and types of learning. The findings show that policy experiments produce cognitive and relational learning effects, but less normative learning, and experiment design influenced three of six measured dimensions of learning, especially the cognitive learning dimensions. This reveals a trade-off between designing for knowledge development and designing for normative or relational changes; choices that experiment designers should make in the context of their adaptation problem. Our findings also show the role leadership plays in building trust.

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Frameworks for urban water sustainability

Bell¹

2020

WIREs Water

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Integrated water management, sustainable water management, water sensitive cities, and other formulations are often presented as the latest in a series of paradigms of water management. This implies a unified approach, while urban water debates reflect a wide diversity of political, social, and technical viewpoints. Five distinct but overlapping frameworks for urban water sustainability are evident in research, policy and practice, reflecting wider environmental theory, politics, and discourse. Sustainable development is based on meeting the needs for water and sanitation of the urban poor. Ecological modernization focuses on policies to improve water efficiency and treatment through technological innovation and individual behavior change. Socio‐technical framings aim to understand how change in water systems occurs across physical and institutional scales and addresses the co‐evolution of infrastructures, cultures, and everyday practices. Urban political ecology analyses water infrastructure in terms of relationships of power, pointing to the unequal distribution of costs and benefits of urban water management for the environment and citizens. Radical ecology addresses the relationship between human culture and non‐human nature, proposing fundamental reorganization of society to solve ecological and hydrological crises. Characterizing alternate frameworks of urban water sustainability provides clarity on the underlying assumptions, methods, and politics across a diversity of approaches. Frameworks may be deployed strategically to deliver policy impact, or may reflect deeply held political or epistemological standpoints. Understanding different conceptions of urban water sustainability provides the basis for more constructive dialogue and debate about water and its role in sustainable cites. This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Planning Water Human Water > Water Governance Water and Life > Conservation, Management, and Awareness

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Governance experimentation and factors of success in socio-technical transitions in the urban water sector

Cited by 176 publications

References 38 publications

Learning through evaluation – A tentative evaluative scheme for sustainability transition experiments

Learning through evaluation – A tentative evaluative scheme for sustainability transition experiments

Stimulating Learning through Policy Experimentation: A Multi-Case Analysis of How Design Influences Policy Learning Outcomes in Experiments for Climate Adaptation

Frameworks for urban water sustainability

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