An article I worked on with ex-colleagues from Leuven (Johan Hovelynck, Greet François and Tharsi Taillieu) has just appeared on the Environmental Science and Policy website.
Hovelynck, J., Dewulf, A., François, G., & Taillieu, T. (in press). Interdisciplinary knowledge integration through group model building: recognizing dualities and triadizing the conversation. Environmental Science & Policy, doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2010.04.002
This articles adressess the challenge of integrating knowledge across different disciplines in environmental sciences by studying interdisciplinary group model building sessions. Dealing with dualities about how to develop and represent knowledge emerges as a key challenge for interdisciplinary knowledge integration, and the importance of creating a third position in these discussion is underlined.
This is the abstract:
As part of the inquiry into managing an interdisciplinary research process on adaptive water governance, we investigated the process of group model building (GMB) and, more specifically, the role of Unified Modeling Language (UML) in this process. An analysis of group interaction reveals several tensions in the process of knowledge integration, which can be grouped into three overarching dualities: ‘simplicity versus complexity’, ‘constraining versus containing’ and ‘defining versus refining’. As group members take different positions with regard to these dualities, these represent sources of tension and potential ‘stuckness’ of the GMB. Hence the question arises how the group can manage duality in ways that take the GMB beyond its opposing forces. We suggest that knowledge integration processes may benefit from early recognition of the dualities at hand and strategies aimed at creating ‘thirdness’, including some suggestions on the concrete forms such ‘thirdness’ may take.
The article can be downloaded here
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
PhD and Assistant Professor positions at PAP
Our Public Administration and Policy Group is looking for candidates for two new positions:
(1) PhD position on the framing and governance of climate adaptation
As announced informally earlier on this blog, the Public Administration and Policy Group at Wageningen University now offers a position for a 4-year PhD project on “Making sense of climate impacts: understanding and dealing with the variety of climate change frames in governance processes”.
The project is part of the broader Knowledge for Climate programme on the governance of climate adaptation, carried out by five Dutch and three international universities. The aim of the research is to understand the variety of perspectives or frames on climate change and to develop ways of dealing with controversies in governance processes for climate adaptation. In these processes, governmental, societal and business actors try to implement adaptation strategies that can protect vulnerable Dutch regions (or 'hotspots') from the impacts of climate change. Fluency in Dutch is required for this position.
More information on the "Governance of climate adaptation" consortium programme can be found here and here. More information about the PhD project can be found here.
To apply for this job (before April 25), go to www.academictransfer.com/4077
(2) Assistant Professor (Tenure Track position)
As an Assistant Professor you will participate in the research program “changing governance, governing change”. Within this context you can develop your own research line. You will cosupervise PhD’s and lecture public administration and governance to students both in social and natural sciences at Wageningen University. In addition, you are expected to contribute actively to the acquisition of research grants, consultancy and research projects. Both Dutch and international candidates are welcomed!
To apply for this job (before April 30), go to www.academictransfer.com/4134
Feel free to forward this information to colleagues or potential candidates.
(1) PhD position on the framing and governance of climate adaptation
As announced informally earlier on this blog, the Public Administration and Policy Group at Wageningen University now offers a position for a 4-year PhD project on “Making sense of climate impacts: understanding and dealing with the variety of climate change frames in governance processes”.
The project is part of the broader Knowledge for Climate programme on the governance of climate adaptation, carried out by five Dutch and three international universities. The aim of the research is to understand the variety of perspectives or frames on climate change and to develop ways of dealing with controversies in governance processes for climate adaptation. In these processes, governmental, societal and business actors try to implement adaptation strategies that can protect vulnerable Dutch regions (or 'hotspots') from the impacts of climate change. Fluency in Dutch is required for this position.
More information on the "Governance of climate adaptation" consortium programme can be found here and here. More information about the PhD project can be found here.
To apply for this job (before April 25), go to www.academictransfer.com/4077
(2) Assistant Professor (Tenure Track position)
As an Assistant Professor you will participate in the research program “changing governance, governing change”. Within this context you can develop your own research line. You will cosupervise PhD’s and lecture public administration and governance to students both in social and natural sciences at Wageningen University. In addition, you are expected to contribute actively to the acquisition of research grants, consultancy and research projects. Both Dutch and international candidates are welcomed!
To apply for this job (before April 30), go to www.academictransfer.com/4134
Feel free to forward this information to colleagues or potential candidates.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
(Re)framing uncertainties in water management practice
The title of this post is also the title of the recently completed dissertation by Dr. (!) Nicola Isendahl at the University of Osnabrück. Before a commission consisting of Claudia Pahl-Wostl, Jens Newig, Carolin Rettig and myself, Nicola defended her dissertation succesfully on March 24th!
Apart from a theoretical and methodological discussion of uncertainties, frames and water management strategies, the dissertation summarizes the results of three journal articles. The third one (actually the second in the order of the dissertation), entitled "Using framing parameters to improve handling of uncertainties in water management practice" has just been published in Environmental Policy and Governance and can also be downloaded here. With an eye to practical usefulness, a recurring theme in Nicola's dissertation, the identified parameters or dimensions of how water managers frame uncertainties, are used as starting points for developing strategies for dealing with the uncertainties. Some of these strategies involve reframing how the uncertainties are understood to identify new options. This is a quote from the abstract:
"We apply recently developed parameters of the framing of uncertainty in two sub-basins of the Rhine, the Dutch Kromme Rijn and the German Wupper. We present and discuss the results of a series of stakeholder interactions in the two basins aimed at developing strategies for improving dealing with uncertainties. The strategies are amended and synthesized in a check-list based on the uncertainty framing parameters as a hands-on tool for systematically identifying improvement options when dealing with uncertainty in water management practice."
Given the policies of the University of Osnabrück, the whole dissertation should become publicly available soon.
Apart from a theoretical and methodological discussion of uncertainties, frames and water management strategies, the dissertation summarizes the results of three journal articles. The third one (actually the second in the order of the dissertation), entitled "Using framing parameters to improve handling of uncertainties in water management practice" has just been published in Environmental Policy and Governance and can also be downloaded here. With an eye to practical usefulness, a recurring theme in Nicola's dissertation, the identified parameters or dimensions of how water managers frame uncertainties, are used as starting points for developing strategies for dealing with the uncertainties. Some of these strategies involve reframing how the uncertainties are understood to identify new options. This is a quote from the abstract:
"We apply recently developed parameters of the framing of uncertainty in two sub-basins of the Rhine, the Dutch Kromme Rijn and the German Wupper. We present and discuss the results of a series of stakeholder interactions in the two basins aimed at developing strategies for improving dealing with uncertainties. The strategies are amended and synthesized in a check-list based on the uncertainty framing parameters as a hands-on tool for systematically identifying improvement options when dealing with uncertainty in water management practice."
Given the policies of the University of Osnabrück, the whole dissertation should become publicly available soon.
Friday, March 12, 2010
"Manuscript published for discussion" !?
The title of this post was the surprising subject of a recent e-mail I got from a scientific journal. It's not the review method I'm used to, but a quite interesting one nonetheless.
I recently made a contribution to a paper by Wouter Buytaert and others, entitled "Uncertainties in climate change projections and regional downscaling: implications for water resources management", which has now appeared in the on-line journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions (you can find it here). It will undergo a kind of public on-line review. These are some of the instructions given by the journal:
"In addition to the Author Comments, you and your co-authors can individually publish Short Comments under your names. Short Comments can also be published by all other members of the scientific community. To foster scientific discussion, please forward this information to your co-authors and any other interested colleagues. Please respond to the Referee Comments and relevant Short Comments published in the discussion forum of your paper as soon as possible in order to stimulate further discussion by interested scientists."
After responding to the comments by referees and colleagues and revising the paper, an editorial decision will be made whether or not to publish the paper in the ISI journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. I'm curious to see how this will work and, of course, you are all invited to comment!
I recently made a contribution to a paper by Wouter Buytaert and others, entitled "Uncertainties in climate change projections and regional downscaling: implications for water resources management", which has now appeared in the on-line journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions (you can find it here). It will undergo a kind of public on-line review. These are some of the instructions given by the journal:
"In addition to the Author Comments, you and your co-authors can individually publish Short Comments under your names. Short Comments can also be published by all other members of the scientific community. To foster scientific discussion, please forward this information to your co-authors and any other interested colleagues. Please respond to the Referee Comments and relevant Short Comments published in the discussion forum of your paper as soon as possible in order to stimulate further discussion by interested scientists."
After responding to the comments by referees and colleagues and revising the paper, an editorial decision will be made whether or not to publish the paper in the ISI journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. I'm curious to see how this will work and, of course, you are all invited to comment!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Knowledge for Climate PhD position “Making sense of climate impacts" at Wageningen University
After favourable review by scientific and societal referees, the Knowledge for Climate board has decided to fund the full proposal submitted by our "Governance of Climate Adaptation" consortium! The consortium has been awarded the Center of Excellence label. In the framework of this 4-year research and action programme, we are looking for candidates for the following PhD position at our group (www.pap.wur.nl)
“Making sense of climate impacts: Understanding and dealing with the variety of climate change frames in governance processes”
Promotor: Prof. Dr. Katrien Termeer
Co-promotor: Dr. Art Dewulf
Behind the apparent consensus that climate change is an important issue, a world of different perspectives or frames emerges (Benford & Snow, 2000; Chong & Druckman, 2007; Dewulf, et al., 2009; Schön & Rein, 1994). Effective, legitimate and resilient adaptation strategies require more than a broad agreement that climate change is important. First, in a new and not yet institutionalized policy domain, tuning with sectors like spatial planning, water, nature, agriculture, industry or infrastructure becomes crucial – these different worlds need to be connected somehow and the spatial scale for doing so is not self-evident. Second, in a multi-level governance context (Hooghe & Marks, 2003), tuning is also needed between local, regional, national and international levels on the administrative scale, which operate with different frames of reference. Third, the time scale for climate change goes much further than the usual planning horizon of governments, companies or societal organizations (Haug, et al., 2009). The long term scenarios for climate impacts, although plausible, do involve margins of uncertainty, which can be used as excuses not to act (Keeling, 2009).
All of this provides endless possibilities to frame the seriousness, urgency or scale of climate adaptation in widely diverging ways. The increasingly polarized discussion between ‘climate sceptics’ and ‘climate alarmists’, which has reached the mainstream media and political parties, testifies to this. Therefore, the variety of climate adaptation frames is likely to play an important role in climate adaptation governance processes, and we assume that the way these frame differences are handled will affect the progress and outcomes of these governance processes.
The aim of this research project is to answer this key question: How to realize effective, legitimate and resilient adaptation strategies in a situation of diverging frames about spatial, temporal and administrative scales for climate adaptation, within and between governments, businesses, scientists, societal actors and the media? The following research questions will be addressed:
“Making sense of climate impacts: Understanding and dealing with the variety of climate change frames in governance processes”
Promotor: Prof. Dr. Katrien Termeer
Co-promotor: Dr. Art Dewulf
Behind the apparent consensus that climate change is an important issue, a world of different perspectives or frames emerges (Benford & Snow, 2000; Chong & Druckman, 2007; Dewulf, et al., 2009; Schön & Rein, 1994). Effective, legitimate and resilient adaptation strategies require more than a broad agreement that climate change is important. First, in a new and not yet institutionalized policy domain, tuning with sectors like spatial planning, water, nature, agriculture, industry or infrastructure becomes crucial – these different worlds need to be connected somehow and the spatial scale for doing so is not self-evident. Second, in a multi-level governance context (Hooghe & Marks, 2003), tuning is also needed between local, regional, national and international levels on the administrative scale, which operate with different frames of reference. Third, the time scale for climate change goes much further than the usual planning horizon of governments, companies or societal organizations (Haug, et al., 2009). The long term scenarios for climate impacts, although plausible, do involve margins of uncertainty, which can be used as excuses not to act (Keeling, 2009).
All of this provides endless possibilities to frame the seriousness, urgency or scale of climate adaptation in widely diverging ways. The increasingly polarized discussion between ‘climate sceptics’ and ‘climate alarmists’, which has reached the mainstream media and political parties, testifies to this. Therefore, the variety of climate adaptation frames is likely to play an important role in climate adaptation governance processes, and we assume that the way these frame differences are handled will affect the progress and outcomes of these governance processes.
The aim of this research project is to answer this key question: How to realize effective, legitimate and resilient adaptation strategies in a situation of diverging frames about spatial, temporal and administrative scales for climate adaptation, within and between governments, businesses, scientists, societal actors and the media? The following research questions will be addressed:
- How do the actors in climate adaptation policy processes interactively deal with their frame differences?
- What is the potential of these ways of dealing with frame differences to prevent (or stir up) controversies?
- What is the influence of climate frames in the media on climate frames or controversies in policy processes?
- Which interventions for dealing with multiple frames can contribute to effective, legitimate and resilient climate adaptation and how?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)