ESRC research projects
Engaging with rivers in a period of uncertainty
University of Sheffield
Professor Paul Selman
- To systematically review the evidence regarding collaborative river basin planning.
- Undertake action research into the use of imaginative engagement methods to enable people to visualise complex systems.
- Appraisal of participants developing awareness of catchment and river basin processes and the meanings they attach to them.
Sustainable development is strongly related to water quality and quantity, and to related issues of flood hazard and sustainable drainage.
Particularly in the context of the EU Water Framework Directive, many communities have been acquiring the skills and knowledge to enable them to participate effectively in the production of river basin and flood hazard management plans.
There is now a considerable body of research and evidence into the successes and challenges arising from this process, but it is very scattered and often in 'grey literature'. It is important that this evidence is consolidated both as an information resource but also as a platform for future research.
However, it is becoming increasingly important (a) to think beyond the 2009 deadline for the production of River Basin Management Plans so that stakeholders are equipped to make appropriate choices and participate in decisions outside the formal plan-making context, and (b) to contribute effectively at catchment and river basin, rather than just local, scales. At these wider geographical scales, effective participation becomes especially difficult, not least because of the degree of abstraction needed to understand hydrological and ecological processes.
Our research has two elements. First, there is a systematic review of evidence regarding collaborative river basin planning. Although rigorous in its approach, this will need to be selective, for example by prioritising stakeholder-oriented models in temperate systems at regional and sub-regional scales.
Second, building on this, we will undertake action research into the use of 'imaginative engagement' methods to enable people to visualize complex systems. This has been referred to as raising people's 'catchment consciousness', and it is an essential precursor to handling scientific information and understanding causes and consequences of change in large-scale systems.
As well as sharing information with participants and enabling them to source expert knowledge, we will also appraise their developing awareness of catchment and river basin processes, and the meanings they attach to them. We will also explore how this new knowledge builds capacity, both personally and institutionally, to improve collaborative decision-making. This work will be supported by the Environment Agency, partly because of their expertise and interest, but also because their local staff can help pave the way for action research in sensitive settings.
At the conclusion of the project, we will draw together our own results with those of the systematic review and disseminate the findings to varied audiences through a number of publications and events.
ESRC is the UK's largest research funding agency for social and economic issues.
