Raoul Beunen is associate professor Spatial and Environmental planning. He works on Evolutionary Governance Theory in the fields of natural resource management and spatial planning. He studies the implementation of planning and environmental policies in different institutional settings and investigated the importance of path dependence in enabling new perspectives in policy landscapes.
He is program director for two research programs: 1. social innovation in regional planning, rethinking concepts, strategies and instruments 2. transition and innovation in natural resource governance
In this paper we explore the consequences of a flat ontology for planning theory and practice thr... more In this paper we explore the consequences of a flat ontology for planning theory and practice through the lens of Evolutionary Governance Theory (EGT). We present a perspective in which the ontological hierarchies assumed in planning and beyond are left behind, but also one that allows for understanding how hierarchies and binaries can emerge from and within governance and specifically planning. In this perspective planning is conceptualised as a web of interrelated social-material systems underpinning the coordination of policies and practices affecting spatial organization. Within this web, different planning perspectives and planning practices coexist and co-evolve, partly in relation to the wider governance contexts of which they are part. We explore and deepen our understanding of the consequences of flat ontology by focussing on the interrelations between power and knowledge and the varied effects of materiality on planning and governance as materiality can play roles ranging from latent infrastructure to main triggers of change. We conclude our paper by assessing the consequences for the positionality of planning in society, stressing the need for more reflexive and adaptive forms of planning and governance, and reflection on what such forms of planning could look like. We argue that despite the abstract nature of discussions on ontology in and of planning, the conceptual shifts that result from thinking in terms of flat ontologies can significantly affect planning practices as it can inspire new ways of observing and organizing.
Public trust in water managers is often considered an important precondition for the effective im... more Public trust in water managers is often considered an important precondition for the effective implementation of sustainable water-management practices. Although it is well known that general public trust in government institutions is under pressure, much less is known in the literature on water governance whether such distrust also affects general and task-specific trust of the wider public in water managers. In addition, empirical studies on the determinants of such trust seem to be scarce. To fill those gaps, this study aims to measure general and task-specific public trust in water managers in the Netherlands and to assess how a selected group of potential determinants is related to general-and taskspecific trust in water managers. To this end, we employ an original survey among a representative sample of the Dutch population (N = 2262). We find that trust in water managers in the Netherlands is generally high, but that it also comes with some task-specific variations. People have more trust in the floodprotection capacities of the water managers than in the capacities to successfully manage surface-water quality, nature conservation, and drought management. Using linear regression models, we subsequently find that individual-level variations in trust in water managers are best explained by one's general level of political trust. Additionally, we also show that both risk perceptions and self-evaluations of how informed people feel themselves about water management are important factors with (curvilinear) relations with trust in water managers. Overall, we conclude that water managers are under specific conditions able to build themselves well-established reputations and relatively high trust levels based on their performances. Nevertheless, trust development is far from entirely in the hands of the water managers themselves as we also conclude that trust evaluations of water managers are not immune from negative generalized political evaluations and public perceptions on water related risks.
International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 2021
This paper [https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2021.1964858] explores the concept of adaptive resea... more This paper [https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2021.1964858] explores the concept of adaptive research design, in which topic, theoretical framing, method, and data are in principle open to adaptation during the research process. The main premise is that adaptations in one element of the research process can trigger changes in other elements. Both positive and negative reasons for adaptivity are discussed along with various valid reasons for limiting adaptivity in particular cases. Grasping the different couplings between concepts, theories and methods is useful to discern the possibilities and limits of adaptive methodology in situ. To deepen the understanding of the adaptive capacity of methodology, we broaden the discussion to look at the embedding of methodology in academia and its disciplines. In our perspective, methods appear as devices structuring thinking and observation and are well used and placed if they enhance and enable the continuation of observation and reflection and if they allow the researcher to remain open for alternative observations and interpretations.
In 2016, the Fitness Check of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives concluded that, in order to re... more In 2016, the Fitness Check of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives concluded that, in order to reach their most important objectives, the implementation of both directives needed to be improved. This paper analyses the institutional changes that characterise the implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives in the Netherlands. These institutional changes include revisions of the rules embedded in Dutch nature conservation law, the introduction of new policy instruments, and the emergence of widely shared concepts and additional norms and rules that are used in decision-making procedures. In the first phase of the implementation of these directives, their legal requirements were integrated into national laws. In later years, national aims and rules were gradually removed from conservation law, and new instruments and rules were added. The analysis shows that most important drivers for institutional change were a discourse focusing on ways to stretch the legal requirements of the two directives and the interpretation of key concepts and rules that emerged in assessment and decision-making procedures and court rulings. In sum, these institutional changes have not improved the implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives and have made it more difficult to ensure the sustainable conservation of species and their habitats in the Netherlands.
This paper reflects on the performance and endurance of long-term perspectives and their impact o... more This paper reflects on the performance and endurance of long-term perspectives and their impact on strategies, institutional change and material effects. In the past decades, the long-term perspective of a national ecological network has been a key element of Dutch nature conservation policy. By focusing on the temporal, procedural and discursive dimensions of Dutch nature conservation, the analysis shows that long-term perspectives can function as powerful coordination tools, across government levels and due time. Conversely, their actual realization often proves vulnerable to the multiple dependencies built into governance processes, including competing claims about the future and related strategies. In the context of Dutch nature conservation policy, we witness a growing discrepancy between the long-term perspective on the one hand and strategies, institutional changes and material effects on the other. We subsequently examine the underlying conditions which enabled the long-term perspective of a national ecological network to endure through time and still play an important role in the policies and actions of public and private organisations. The network of actors, institutions and material realities emerging over time provides the long-term perspective with some critical mass, while it also explains its disposition to change over time.
Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 2020
This paper presents a novel framework for analyzing the formation and effects of strategies in en... more This paper presents a novel framework for analyzing the formation and effects of strategies in environmental governance. To that purpose, it combines elements of management studies, strategy as practice thinking, social systems theory and evolutionary governance theory. It starts from the notion that govern-ance and its constitutive elements are constantly evolving and that the formation of strategies and the effect strategies produce should be understood as elements of these ongoing dynamics. Strategy is analyzed in its institutional and narrative dimensions. The concept of reality effects is introduced to grasp the various ways in which discursive and material changes can be linked to strategy and to show that the identification of strategies can result from prior intention as well as a posteriori ascription. The observation of reality effects can enhance reality effects, and so does the observation of strategy. Different modes and levels of observation bring in different strategic potentialities: observation of self, of the governance context , and of the external environment. The paper syntheses these ideas into a framework which conceptualizes strategies as productive fictions that require constant adaptation. They never entirely work out as expected or hoped for, yet these productive fictions are necessary and effective parts of planning and steering efforts.
In this thematic issue we pursue the idea that comparative studies of planning systems are utterl... more In this thematic issue we pursue the idea that comparative studies of planning systems are utterly useful for gaining a deeper understanding of learning processes and learning capacity in spatial planning systems. In contemporary planning systems the pressures towards learning and continuous self-transformation are high. On the one hand more and more planning is needed in terms of integration of expertise, policy, local knowledge, and response to long term environmental challenges, while on the other hand the value of planning systems is increasingly questioned and many places witness an erosion of planning institutions. The issue brings together a diversity of contributions that explore different forms of comparative learning and their value for any attempt at reorganization, adaptation and improvement of planning systems.
This paper explores the selection and implementation of planning strategies and land use instrume... more This paper explores the selection and implementation of planning strategies and land use instruments for dealing with population decline in three different regions in the Netherlands. The study shows that each region developed very specific responses that can be explained by the different discourses that dominated planning and policymaking in that region. Although the perceptions about population decline, its consequences and suitable responses are strongly context specific, in all three regions responsible governments deemed it necessary to adapt existing policies and plans and to tailor strategies to a situation with population decline. The study also shows that ideas about using planning as a tool to stimulate economic growth prevail in the studied regions, but that it are precisely these ideas that hamper the development and implementation of policies for dealing with population decline. The paper also illustrates how Evolutionary Governance Theory can be useful for explaining why regions take different routes in dealing with population decline and for analysing the different dependencies that influence the selection of strategies.
This paper investigates the potential of research methods as bridging devices, between theory and... more This paper investigates the potential of research methods as bridging devices, between theory and praxis, between analysis and strategy, and between past and future. The focus is on those forms of bridging that are relevant for understanding and effectuating change in governance, at community level and at the scale of organizations. The authors use the newly minted methods of path and context mapping as a case study to reaffirm the potential of methods to perform different bridging functions at the same time. In doing this clear tradeoffs are revealed for each role; using methods as bridging devices entails a need for positioning and adaptation as well as a choice of focus. Both the case study and the theoretical analysis underline the necessary imperfection of any method as bridging device given the tradeoffs mentioned; adapted versions in one context produce both new strengths and weaknesses. The underlying reason for imperfection and tradeoffs is that in each of the forms of bridging involved, neither side can be reduced to the other, so a gap always remains. We demonstrate the practice of bridging through method in governance is greatly helped when methods are flexibly deployed in ongoing processes of bricolage, nesting, and modification. Maybe counter-intuitively, this can include a shift in position between the framing and the framed, between the nested and the meta-method. The always pressured context of governance can help here, as it can enable the continuous production of new framing devices and other methods.
Spatial planning and place branding are allies in the discovery and creation of place narratives ... more Spatial planning and place branding are allies in the discovery and creation of place narratives and assets as well as in contributing to spatial transformation or the improvement of the socio-spatial and spatial-economic conditions of a place. However, the existing and potential linkages between spatial planning and place branding are yet to be explored by both scientists and policy-makers. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, we reflect upon the central themes of this special issue by placing them in the context of larger debates on the position of place branding and spatial planning in society. Secondly, we show that this requires attention to the many ways in which planning and branding can cross-fertilize each other and to the embedding of both in evolving spatial governance structures. We then conclude with a typology expanding the understanding of this linkage between spatial planning and place branding.
In many countries throughout the EU recent planning reforms have reduced the possibilities for co... more In many countries throughout the EU recent planning reforms have reduced the possibilities for comprehensive and long-term planning. This paper explores the factors that explain why one of these countries, Poland, lost many of its tools for coordinating the policies and practices affecting spatial organization at the local level. The study, based on the discourses of spatial planners, traces the institutionalisation of local spatial planning in Poland since the 1920s identifying dominant policy paradigms and internal and external determinants leading to the reform in the early 1990s. It shows that the planning reform was driven by attempts to adapt planning institutions to changing political and legal environments after 1989. The new institutional framework that emerged from the reform failed to introduce alternative and effective forms of local spatial planning. Once options for planning were reduced, it became difficult to revive them. The case of Poland shows that a revision of long-term planning institutions might have unexpected outcomes and that it might be difficult to restore particular instruments and planning approaches once they have been removed from the toolbox of the planning system.
Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2019
This is the introduction to a special issue on institutional work in environmental governance. In... more This is the introduction to a special issue on institutional work in environmental governance. In this special issue we interrogate and evaluate the concept of institutional work in the domain of environmental governance, by bringing together diverse papers spanning a range of substantive and theoretical approaches. The papers apply the concept of institutional work across fields of regional development, water governance, climate change adaptation, and urban planning, and disciplines of planning, sociology, political science, geography, and anthropology. As a whole, the Special Issue contributes to a growing body of literature exploring the role of agency in processes of institutional change. This has implications for environmental governance scholarship, which emphasizes the role of institutions across all scales from local to global and to understanding transformations in governance systems within which institutional change plays a central role.
In 2015, the European Union's Birds and Habitats Directives underwent an evaluation in which sele... more In 2015, the European Union's Birds and Habitats Directives underwent an evaluation in which selected national stakeholders provided their perspectives on the directives' implementation. Analyzing the views of different stakeholder groups from eight European member states, this study found that these views could be synthesized into three more general perspectives. The first perspective focuses on problems, indicating that these are caused by legislative drawbacks in the directives. The second perspective holds that problems are generated by improper implementation by member states. The third perspective commends the benefits of the directives in face of the existing implementation problems. Interest groups and to a minor extent governmental bodies espoused the first perspective, and environmental non-governmental organizations especially favored the third. The struggle between these perspectives reflects ongoing debates regarding positive and negative aspects of the directives and possibilities for improving their implementation. We conclude that the relevance and impact of conservation policies should never be seen as self-evident. In order to reach the conservation goals envisaged, continuous efforts are needed to enforce and maintain environmental legislation.
Many EU Member States are using management plans to ensure the sustainable conservation and manag... more Many EU Member States are using management plans to ensure the sustainable conservation and management of Natura 2000 sites. The decision about whether to use management plans lies with the Member States. Although management planning systems differ, in most countries the management plan is developed at local level in close consultation with relevant stakeholders. This article explores to what extent national decisions on the management planning system have influenced the content of the local plans. The comparison of French and Dutch Natura 2000 management plans shows that the plans mostly propose conservation measures that can be implemented by individual owners or users of the site and for which funding is available. The individual measures in the French plans reflect the national decision that the management plans should work primarily as a funding tool. The individual measures in the Dutch plans however do not reflect the national decision that management plans should act as a legislative tool to regulate land use activities in and around the site. In the Netherlands, the focus has shifted towards a tool for the coordination of funding. The analysis shows that in both countries the selection of particular measures in the management plans is connected to other policies and funding mechanisms that deal with the problems perceived by involved actors, such as the Common Agricultural Policy and the Dutch National Program for Nitrogen Deposition.
This paper analyses how Dutch Compulsory Purchase (CP) compensation is decided on and explores to... more This paper analyses how Dutch Compulsory Purchase (CP) compensation is decided on and explores to what extent the valuation of the CP compensation is assessed by professionals within a range of 10% (higher or lower) difference. We study CP compensation using the Dutch Legal Intelligence database, assessing every publicly available court decision, and comparing the compensation that is offered in the voluntary negotiations and during the CP procedure in court. The results show that there are many uncertainties in the valuation process of CP that lead to a wide range of valuation outcomes. In 94 legal CP cases from the Netherlands, the final offer of compensation in court was on average 56.7 percent higher than the last compensation offer from the expropriator. The differences in valuation were related to several aspects including different systems of valuation, and different interpretations of the CP legislation.
Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2018
In this paper we analyze the institutional work that underlies the attempt to institutionalize a ... more In this paper we analyze the institutional work that underlies the attempt to institutionalize a more active role of citizens in urban planning. We draw on a case in which a group of citizens aims to redevelop a brownfield site into a vital urban area. This citizens' initiative is co-creating a new form of urban planning with the municipality, private organizations and individual citizens. The study shows that and how citizens' initiatives can be a driver for institutional change, but that uncertainties about new institutions tend to reinforce the maintenance of existing ones. This paradox explains why even if the ambition for a new form of planning is widely shared, actually realizing institutional change can still be difficult and time-consuming. Bisschops, S., & Beunen, R. (2018). A new role for citizens' initiatives: the difficulties in co-creating institutional change in urban planning. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 1-16.
Current Opion in Environmental Sustainability, 2017
Since the 1950s the amount of plastics in the marine environment has increased dramatically. Worl... more Since the 1950s the amount of plastics in the marine environment has increased dramatically. Worldwide there is a growing concern about the risks and possible adverse effects of (micro)plastics. This paper reflects on the sources and effects of marine litter and the effects of policies and other actions taken worldwide. Current knowledge offers a solid basis for effective action. Yet, so far the effects of policies and other initiatives are still largely insufficient. The search for appropriate responses could be based on possible interventions and profound understanding of the context specific factors for success. Moreover, the scope, timeframe and dynamics of all initiatives are distinctly different and orchestration at all levels, in close cooperation with one another, is currently lacking.
This special issue of Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning draws the attention to ongoing c... more This special issue of Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning draws the attention to ongoing concerns about the management of natural resources (NRM): their exploration, extraction, processing, and commodification is still happening in ways that are perceived to be socially unjust and ecologically unsustainable. This special issue seeks to highlight how the Foucaultian notion of power/knowledge remains underused and underdeveloped in the realm of environmental and resource governance. The contributors argue that any improvement in NRM to social justice or sustainability will have to pass through the knot of power/knowledge. Revealing the actual functioning and effects of current NRM opens potential for critical thinking, shifts power relations and questions the core assumptions of experts or economic outcomes. For more info see: http://governancetheory.com The introduction can be downloaded for free via one of the following links:
In this paper, we present a conceptual framework extending Foucaultian insights on the relations ... more In this paper, we present a conceptual framework extending Foucaultian insights on the relations between power and knowledge to link up with current insights into studies of natural resource management (NRM) and more broadly environmental studies. We classify discourses in NRM according to understandings of social–ecological systems and argue that grasping those larger contexts can push NRM in a different direction, forming a base for more informed and inclusive decision-making. We then reconstruct the importance of materiality, the physical world, for the functioning of NRM within social–ecological systems. The concept of livelihoods is added to our developing Foucaultian frame, as material/discursive entwinements which structure responses of many stakeholders in NRM. Finally, we present an expansion of Foucaultian NRM into adaptive governance thinking as a logical outcome of basic insights into power/knowledge, developed and contextualized in current NRM and its critical analyses
In this paper we explore the consequences of a flat ontology for planning theory and practice thr... more In this paper we explore the consequences of a flat ontology for planning theory and practice through the lens of Evolutionary Governance Theory (EGT). We present a perspective in which the ontological hierarchies assumed in planning and beyond are left behind, but also one that allows for understanding how hierarchies and binaries can emerge from and within governance and specifically planning. In this perspective planning is conceptualised as a web of interrelated social-material systems underpinning the coordination of policies and practices affecting spatial organization. Within this web, different planning perspectives and planning practices coexist and co-evolve, partly in relation to the wider governance contexts of which they are part. We explore and deepen our understanding of the consequences of flat ontology by focussing on the interrelations between power and knowledge and the varied effects of materiality on planning and governance as materiality can play roles ranging from latent infrastructure to main triggers of change. We conclude our paper by assessing the consequences for the positionality of planning in society, stressing the need for more reflexive and adaptive forms of planning and governance, and reflection on what such forms of planning could look like. We argue that despite the abstract nature of discussions on ontology in and of planning, the conceptual shifts that result from thinking in terms of flat ontologies can significantly affect planning practices as it can inspire new ways of observing and organizing.
Public trust in water managers is often considered an important precondition for the effective im... more Public trust in water managers is often considered an important precondition for the effective implementation of sustainable water-management practices. Although it is well known that general public trust in government institutions is under pressure, much less is known in the literature on water governance whether such distrust also affects general and task-specific trust of the wider public in water managers. In addition, empirical studies on the determinants of such trust seem to be scarce. To fill those gaps, this study aims to measure general and task-specific public trust in water managers in the Netherlands and to assess how a selected group of potential determinants is related to general-and taskspecific trust in water managers. To this end, we employ an original survey among a representative sample of the Dutch population (N = 2262). We find that trust in water managers in the Netherlands is generally high, but that it also comes with some task-specific variations. People have more trust in the floodprotection capacities of the water managers than in the capacities to successfully manage surface-water quality, nature conservation, and drought management. Using linear regression models, we subsequently find that individual-level variations in trust in water managers are best explained by one's general level of political trust. Additionally, we also show that both risk perceptions and self-evaluations of how informed people feel themselves about water management are important factors with (curvilinear) relations with trust in water managers. Overall, we conclude that water managers are under specific conditions able to build themselves well-established reputations and relatively high trust levels based on their performances. Nevertheless, trust development is far from entirely in the hands of the water managers themselves as we also conclude that trust evaluations of water managers are not immune from negative generalized political evaluations and public perceptions on water related risks.
International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 2021
This paper [https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2021.1964858] explores the concept of adaptive resea... more This paper [https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2021.1964858] explores the concept of adaptive research design, in which topic, theoretical framing, method, and data are in principle open to adaptation during the research process. The main premise is that adaptations in one element of the research process can trigger changes in other elements. Both positive and negative reasons for adaptivity are discussed along with various valid reasons for limiting adaptivity in particular cases. Grasping the different couplings between concepts, theories and methods is useful to discern the possibilities and limits of adaptive methodology in situ. To deepen the understanding of the adaptive capacity of methodology, we broaden the discussion to look at the embedding of methodology in academia and its disciplines. In our perspective, methods appear as devices structuring thinking and observation and are well used and placed if they enhance and enable the continuation of observation and reflection and if they allow the researcher to remain open for alternative observations and interpretations.
In 2016, the Fitness Check of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives concluded that, in order to re... more In 2016, the Fitness Check of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives concluded that, in order to reach their most important objectives, the implementation of both directives needed to be improved. This paper analyses the institutional changes that characterise the implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives in the Netherlands. These institutional changes include revisions of the rules embedded in Dutch nature conservation law, the introduction of new policy instruments, and the emergence of widely shared concepts and additional norms and rules that are used in decision-making procedures. In the first phase of the implementation of these directives, their legal requirements were integrated into national laws. In later years, national aims and rules were gradually removed from conservation law, and new instruments and rules were added. The analysis shows that most important drivers for institutional change were a discourse focusing on ways to stretch the legal requirements of the two directives and the interpretation of key concepts and rules that emerged in assessment and decision-making procedures and court rulings. In sum, these institutional changes have not improved the implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives and have made it more difficult to ensure the sustainable conservation of species and their habitats in the Netherlands.
This paper reflects on the performance and endurance of long-term perspectives and their impact o... more This paper reflects on the performance and endurance of long-term perspectives and their impact on strategies, institutional change and material effects. In the past decades, the long-term perspective of a national ecological network has been a key element of Dutch nature conservation policy. By focusing on the temporal, procedural and discursive dimensions of Dutch nature conservation, the analysis shows that long-term perspectives can function as powerful coordination tools, across government levels and due time. Conversely, their actual realization often proves vulnerable to the multiple dependencies built into governance processes, including competing claims about the future and related strategies. In the context of Dutch nature conservation policy, we witness a growing discrepancy between the long-term perspective on the one hand and strategies, institutional changes and material effects on the other. We subsequently examine the underlying conditions which enabled the long-term perspective of a national ecological network to endure through time and still play an important role in the policies and actions of public and private organisations. The network of actors, institutions and material realities emerging over time provides the long-term perspective with some critical mass, while it also explains its disposition to change over time.
Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 2020
This paper presents a novel framework for analyzing the formation and effects of strategies in en... more This paper presents a novel framework for analyzing the formation and effects of strategies in environmental governance. To that purpose, it combines elements of management studies, strategy as practice thinking, social systems theory and evolutionary governance theory. It starts from the notion that govern-ance and its constitutive elements are constantly evolving and that the formation of strategies and the effect strategies produce should be understood as elements of these ongoing dynamics. Strategy is analyzed in its institutional and narrative dimensions. The concept of reality effects is introduced to grasp the various ways in which discursive and material changes can be linked to strategy and to show that the identification of strategies can result from prior intention as well as a posteriori ascription. The observation of reality effects can enhance reality effects, and so does the observation of strategy. Different modes and levels of observation bring in different strategic potentialities: observation of self, of the governance context , and of the external environment. The paper syntheses these ideas into a framework which conceptualizes strategies as productive fictions that require constant adaptation. They never entirely work out as expected or hoped for, yet these productive fictions are necessary and effective parts of planning and steering efforts.
In this thematic issue we pursue the idea that comparative studies of planning systems are utterl... more In this thematic issue we pursue the idea that comparative studies of planning systems are utterly useful for gaining a deeper understanding of learning processes and learning capacity in spatial planning systems. In contemporary planning systems the pressures towards learning and continuous self-transformation are high. On the one hand more and more planning is needed in terms of integration of expertise, policy, local knowledge, and response to long term environmental challenges, while on the other hand the value of planning systems is increasingly questioned and many places witness an erosion of planning institutions. The issue brings together a diversity of contributions that explore different forms of comparative learning and their value for any attempt at reorganization, adaptation and improvement of planning systems.
This paper explores the selection and implementation of planning strategies and land use instrume... more This paper explores the selection and implementation of planning strategies and land use instruments for dealing with population decline in three different regions in the Netherlands. The study shows that each region developed very specific responses that can be explained by the different discourses that dominated planning and policymaking in that region. Although the perceptions about population decline, its consequences and suitable responses are strongly context specific, in all three regions responsible governments deemed it necessary to adapt existing policies and plans and to tailor strategies to a situation with population decline. The study also shows that ideas about using planning as a tool to stimulate economic growth prevail in the studied regions, but that it are precisely these ideas that hamper the development and implementation of policies for dealing with population decline. The paper also illustrates how Evolutionary Governance Theory can be useful for explaining why regions take different routes in dealing with population decline and for analysing the different dependencies that influence the selection of strategies.
This paper investigates the potential of research methods as bridging devices, between theory and... more This paper investigates the potential of research methods as bridging devices, between theory and praxis, between analysis and strategy, and between past and future. The focus is on those forms of bridging that are relevant for understanding and effectuating change in governance, at community level and at the scale of organizations. The authors use the newly minted methods of path and context mapping as a case study to reaffirm the potential of methods to perform different bridging functions at the same time. In doing this clear tradeoffs are revealed for each role; using methods as bridging devices entails a need for positioning and adaptation as well as a choice of focus. Both the case study and the theoretical analysis underline the necessary imperfection of any method as bridging device given the tradeoffs mentioned; adapted versions in one context produce both new strengths and weaknesses. The underlying reason for imperfection and tradeoffs is that in each of the forms of bridging involved, neither side can be reduced to the other, so a gap always remains. We demonstrate the practice of bridging through method in governance is greatly helped when methods are flexibly deployed in ongoing processes of bricolage, nesting, and modification. Maybe counter-intuitively, this can include a shift in position between the framing and the framed, between the nested and the meta-method. The always pressured context of governance can help here, as it can enable the continuous production of new framing devices and other methods.
Spatial planning and place branding are allies in the discovery and creation of place narratives ... more Spatial planning and place branding are allies in the discovery and creation of place narratives and assets as well as in contributing to spatial transformation or the improvement of the socio-spatial and spatial-economic conditions of a place. However, the existing and potential linkages between spatial planning and place branding are yet to be explored by both scientists and policy-makers. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, we reflect upon the central themes of this special issue by placing them in the context of larger debates on the position of place branding and spatial planning in society. Secondly, we show that this requires attention to the many ways in which planning and branding can cross-fertilize each other and to the embedding of both in evolving spatial governance structures. We then conclude with a typology expanding the understanding of this linkage between spatial planning and place branding.
In many countries throughout the EU recent planning reforms have reduced the possibilities for co... more In many countries throughout the EU recent planning reforms have reduced the possibilities for comprehensive and long-term planning. This paper explores the factors that explain why one of these countries, Poland, lost many of its tools for coordinating the policies and practices affecting spatial organization at the local level. The study, based on the discourses of spatial planners, traces the institutionalisation of local spatial planning in Poland since the 1920s identifying dominant policy paradigms and internal and external determinants leading to the reform in the early 1990s. It shows that the planning reform was driven by attempts to adapt planning institutions to changing political and legal environments after 1989. The new institutional framework that emerged from the reform failed to introduce alternative and effective forms of local spatial planning. Once options for planning were reduced, it became difficult to revive them. The case of Poland shows that a revision of long-term planning institutions might have unexpected outcomes and that it might be difficult to restore particular instruments and planning approaches once they have been removed from the toolbox of the planning system.
Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2019
This is the introduction to a special issue on institutional work in environmental governance. In... more This is the introduction to a special issue on institutional work in environmental governance. In this special issue we interrogate and evaluate the concept of institutional work in the domain of environmental governance, by bringing together diverse papers spanning a range of substantive and theoretical approaches. The papers apply the concept of institutional work across fields of regional development, water governance, climate change adaptation, and urban planning, and disciplines of planning, sociology, political science, geography, and anthropology. As a whole, the Special Issue contributes to a growing body of literature exploring the role of agency in processes of institutional change. This has implications for environmental governance scholarship, which emphasizes the role of institutions across all scales from local to global and to understanding transformations in governance systems within which institutional change plays a central role.
In 2015, the European Union's Birds and Habitats Directives underwent an evaluation in which sele... more In 2015, the European Union's Birds and Habitats Directives underwent an evaluation in which selected national stakeholders provided their perspectives on the directives' implementation. Analyzing the views of different stakeholder groups from eight European member states, this study found that these views could be synthesized into three more general perspectives. The first perspective focuses on problems, indicating that these are caused by legislative drawbacks in the directives. The second perspective holds that problems are generated by improper implementation by member states. The third perspective commends the benefits of the directives in face of the existing implementation problems. Interest groups and to a minor extent governmental bodies espoused the first perspective, and environmental non-governmental organizations especially favored the third. The struggle between these perspectives reflects ongoing debates regarding positive and negative aspects of the directives and possibilities for improving their implementation. We conclude that the relevance and impact of conservation policies should never be seen as self-evident. In order to reach the conservation goals envisaged, continuous efforts are needed to enforce and maintain environmental legislation.
Many EU Member States are using management plans to ensure the sustainable conservation and manag... more Many EU Member States are using management plans to ensure the sustainable conservation and management of Natura 2000 sites. The decision about whether to use management plans lies with the Member States. Although management planning systems differ, in most countries the management plan is developed at local level in close consultation with relevant stakeholders. This article explores to what extent national decisions on the management planning system have influenced the content of the local plans. The comparison of French and Dutch Natura 2000 management plans shows that the plans mostly propose conservation measures that can be implemented by individual owners or users of the site and for which funding is available. The individual measures in the French plans reflect the national decision that the management plans should work primarily as a funding tool. The individual measures in the Dutch plans however do not reflect the national decision that management plans should act as a legislative tool to regulate land use activities in and around the site. In the Netherlands, the focus has shifted towards a tool for the coordination of funding. The analysis shows that in both countries the selection of particular measures in the management plans is connected to other policies and funding mechanisms that deal with the problems perceived by involved actors, such as the Common Agricultural Policy and the Dutch National Program for Nitrogen Deposition.
This paper analyses how Dutch Compulsory Purchase (CP) compensation is decided on and explores to... more This paper analyses how Dutch Compulsory Purchase (CP) compensation is decided on and explores to what extent the valuation of the CP compensation is assessed by professionals within a range of 10% (higher or lower) difference. We study CP compensation using the Dutch Legal Intelligence database, assessing every publicly available court decision, and comparing the compensation that is offered in the voluntary negotiations and during the CP procedure in court. The results show that there are many uncertainties in the valuation process of CP that lead to a wide range of valuation outcomes. In 94 legal CP cases from the Netherlands, the final offer of compensation in court was on average 56.7 percent higher than the last compensation offer from the expropriator. The differences in valuation were related to several aspects including different systems of valuation, and different interpretations of the CP legislation.
Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2018
In this paper we analyze the institutional work that underlies the attempt to institutionalize a ... more In this paper we analyze the institutional work that underlies the attempt to institutionalize a more active role of citizens in urban planning. We draw on a case in which a group of citizens aims to redevelop a brownfield site into a vital urban area. This citizens' initiative is co-creating a new form of urban planning with the municipality, private organizations and individual citizens. The study shows that and how citizens' initiatives can be a driver for institutional change, but that uncertainties about new institutions tend to reinforce the maintenance of existing ones. This paradox explains why even if the ambition for a new form of planning is widely shared, actually realizing institutional change can still be difficult and time-consuming. Bisschops, S., & Beunen, R. (2018). A new role for citizens' initiatives: the difficulties in co-creating institutional change in urban planning. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 1-16.
Current Opion in Environmental Sustainability, 2017
Since the 1950s the amount of plastics in the marine environment has increased dramatically. Worl... more Since the 1950s the amount of plastics in the marine environment has increased dramatically. Worldwide there is a growing concern about the risks and possible adverse effects of (micro)plastics. This paper reflects on the sources and effects of marine litter and the effects of policies and other actions taken worldwide. Current knowledge offers a solid basis for effective action. Yet, so far the effects of policies and other initiatives are still largely insufficient. The search for appropriate responses could be based on possible interventions and profound understanding of the context specific factors for success. Moreover, the scope, timeframe and dynamics of all initiatives are distinctly different and orchestration at all levels, in close cooperation with one another, is currently lacking.
This special issue of Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning draws the attention to ongoing c... more This special issue of Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning draws the attention to ongoing concerns about the management of natural resources (NRM): their exploration, extraction, processing, and commodification is still happening in ways that are perceived to be socially unjust and ecologically unsustainable. This special issue seeks to highlight how the Foucaultian notion of power/knowledge remains underused and underdeveloped in the realm of environmental and resource governance. The contributors argue that any improvement in NRM to social justice or sustainability will have to pass through the knot of power/knowledge. Revealing the actual functioning and effects of current NRM opens potential for critical thinking, shifts power relations and questions the core assumptions of experts or economic outcomes. For more info see: http://governancetheory.com The introduction can be downloaded for free via one of the following links:
In this paper, we present a conceptual framework extending Foucaultian insights on the relations ... more In this paper, we present a conceptual framework extending Foucaultian insights on the relations between power and knowledge to link up with current insights into studies of natural resource management (NRM) and more broadly environmental studies. We classify discourses in NRM according to understandings of social–ecological systems and argue that grasping those larger contexts can push NRM in a different direction, forming a base for more informed and inclusive decision-making. We then reconstruct the importance of materiality, the physical world, for the functioning of NRM within social–ecological systems. The concept of livelihoods is added to our developing Foucaultian frame, as material/discursive entwinements which structure responses of many stakeholders in NRM. Finally, we present an expansion of Foucaultian NRM into adaptive governance thinking as a logical outcome of basic insights into power/knowledge, developed and contextualized in current NRM and its critical analyses
The government vision ‘The Natural Way Forward’ (2014) introduced the policy concepts of nature c... more The government vision ‘The Natural Way Forward’ (2014) introduced the policy concepts of nature combinations and the nature-inclusive approach. This study investigates whether national government agencies implement these strategies in national projects and what possibilities exist to strengthen this way of working. The researchers made use of ideas from Evolutionary Governance Theory, a theoretical framework for analysing the coevolution of discourses, actors and institutional frameworks. The working methods employed by national government agencies were investigated in four policy areas: wind energy, agriculture, water management and infrastructure. The study shows that nature-inclusive working and nature combinations are gradually being adopted in national government policies, programmes and projects, but that so far nature-inclusive working has been more the exception than the rule.
This book offers the reader a remarkable new perspective on the way markets, laws and societies e... more This book offers the reader a remarkable new perspective on the way markets, laws and societies evolve together. It can be of use to anyone interested in development, market and public sector reform, public administration, politics & law. Based on a wide variety of case studies on three continents and a variety of conceptual sources, the authors develop a theory that clarifies the nature and functioning of dependencies that mark governance evolutions. This in turn delineates in an entirely new manner the spaces open for policy experiment. As such, it offers a new mapping of the middle ground between libertarianism and social engineering. Theoretically, the approach draws on a wide array of sources: institutional & development economics, systems theories, post-structuralism, actor- network theories, planning theory and legal studies.
Het gezamenlijk discussiëren over de dorpsidentiteit helpt bewoners bij het behouden en versterke... more Het gezamenlijk discussiëren over de dorpsidentiteit helpt bewoners bij het behouden en versterken van de sociale cohesie in hun dorp. Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van de Wetenschapswinkel van Wageningen UR (University & Research centre). In opdracht van drie provinciale organisaties uit Groningen, Friesland en Drenthe ontwikkelden onderzoekers vijf methoden die dorpsbewoners kunnen helpen om hun ‘dorpsidentiteit’ expliciet te maken en samen na te denken over de toekomst van het dorp. De discussies over dorpsidentiteit vormen een basis voor het opstellen van een dorpsvisie; een instrument waarmee burgers zelf richting kunnen geven aan de sociale en ruimtelijke ontwikkeling van hun dorp.
In 2007 Donald et al. presented an evaluation of the Birds Directive in the United Kingdom. They ... more In 2007 Donald et al. presented an evaluation of the Birds Directive in the United Kingdom. They reported evidence of positive population changes in species that were covered by the Birds Directive and used this evidence to suggest that supranational conservation policy can bring measurable conservation benefits. In doing so, they assumed a causal link between a policy and spatial effects. In fact, however, the events that take place between the formulation of a policy and the effects measured later on remain a black box. Are the changes in bird populations indeed a direct result of the Birds Directive, and if so, to what extent and in what way? Or are there other factors that explain the population changes? The aim of this book is to open this black box and to show what happens after a conservation policy is formulated. This book provides additional insights into the implementation of conservation policies and presents some recommendations for the design and implementation of these policies.
Planning education often has a strong focus on knowledge, methods, and tools about how to plan. H... more Planning education often has a strong focus on knowledge, methods, and tools about how to plan. However, spatial planning is also about studying and reflecting on planning practices. The ability to reflect critically on planning practices enhances the students' capability of ...
Resilience has become a key concept in the sciences and practices of environmental governance. Ye... more Resilience has become a key concept in the sciences and practices of environmental governance. Yet governing for resilience is a major challenge because it requires governance systems to be both stable and flexible at the same time. Achieving a productive balance between stability and flexibility is a key challenge. The concept of "institutional work" is a promising lens for analysing the dynamic tension between stability and flexibility in governance systems. It refers to actions through which actors create, maintain, or disrupt institutional structures. The paper explains the concept of institutional work and shows how it usefully integrates several emerging lines of study regarding agency in governance, which have so far remained separate. Overall, the concept of institutional work opens up novel opportunities for analysing the interactions between actors and institutional structures that produce stability and flexibility in governance systems.
Many of contemporary issues, like urban development, climate change, biodiversity conservation, o... more Many of contemporary issues, like urban development, climate change, biodiversity conservation, or food security, demand for interdisciplinary approaches that bring together scientist with different ideas about reality and the nature of knowledge. Whereas some focus on the material reality of our world, other focus on the social structures through which humans construct an understanding of that world. This paper presents a framework for going beyond the traditional dichotomy between discourse and materiality. Drawing on the work of one of the most influential sociologists, Niklas Luhmann, it explores the different ways in which materiality can relate to discursive dynamics. Five different events are distinguished: silent, whispering, vigorous, fading and deadly events. These events constitute the spectrum in which changes in the environment affect communication and action. This typology helps to better understand the diversity of societal responses to an ever changing environment.
Smart growth is a comprehensive version of spatial planning that can guide sustainable developmen... more Smart growth is a comprehensive version of spatial planning that can guide sustainable development and tackle negative social and environmental consequences of urbanization. In this paper we explore how an integration of spatial planning and place branding strategies can further the concept of smart growth and improve its chance at implementation. A review of the parallel evolutions of place branding and smart growth shows their shared interest in comprehensive visions, sensitivity for narratives of place and self, and the proposed embedding in participatory governance. The concept of layered and segmentary commodification offers a novel perspective on value creation in smart growth and helps to develop new forms of smart growth, that combine and integrate elements of spatial planning and place branding.
Based on a detailed reconstruction of the planning process of a controversial major building in t... more Based on a detailed reconstruction of the planning process of a controversial major building in the Dutch city of Groningen, we develop a theoretical and conceptual framework for studying object formation and stabilisation. We argue that the many forms of resistance against the object itself triggered a variety of counter-strategies of object formation. We make a distinction between sites, paths and techniques of object formation. To study object formation in more detail we distinguish three techniques: reification, solidification and codification. The techniques of object formation are accompanied by three techniques that produce a relative stability of the object, that increases its irreversibility, the likelihood of object survival: objectification, naturalisation and institutionalisation. We conclude that complete irreversibility is an illusion in governance and planning processes.
We present an analytical framework for analyzing the functions of failure and success ascriptions... more We present an analytical framework for analyzing the functions of failure and success ascriptions in public administration. The framework incorporates concepts and insights from Michel Foucault, Mieke Bal, and other discourse theorists, enriched with notions derived from Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems. The Dutch system of spatial planning serves as a context to investigate the rhetorical functions, performance, discursive configurations, and consequences of success and failure. Two cases nested in the Dutch context are used to elaborate on the performance and performativity of success and failure. We discuss the performance of success and failure in terms of productive competition between discourses and organizations, and emphasize the self-reinforcing nature of success and failure ascriptions in the creation of developmental pathways of the governance system.
In this paper, we adopt a Foucauldian perspective on power/knowledge interactions to investigate ... more In this paper, we adopt a Foucauldian perspective on power/knowledge interactions to investigate the evolution and implementation of policy for the Romanian Danube delta. We argue that a better understanding of the potential for citizen participation in environmental governance can be obtained from a careful analysis of the pathways of emergence, enactment and implementation of policies affecting an area. Policies are seen as temporary conceptual structures coordinating knowledge and power, in constant transmutation because of the confrontation with other power/knowledge configurations. For the Danube delta, it is argued that policies originating at various levels of government co-create a 'local' that is scrutinized, silenced, exoticized, subjugated and marginalized. Finally, we investigate the implications of this and similar processes of delineation of actors for participatory natural resource governance.
Gunder, M., Mandipour, A., Watson, V. (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Planning Theory, Sep 2017
The Routledge Handbook of Planning Theory includes a chapter on Evolutionary Governance Theory (E... more The Routledge Handbook of Planning Theory includes a chapter on Evolutionary Governance Theory (EGT). The chapter explores the presence, the origins and the potential of co‐ evolutionary perspectives in planning theory.
This chapter presents a theoretical perspective on the roles of law in the evolution of planning ... more This chapter presents a theoretical perspective on the roles of law in the evolution of planning systems. Three main roles of law in planning are distinguished: law can enable, delimit and codify planning. How these roles play out and relate to each other in the evolution of a planning system, will differ by community. In four scenario’s we discern key points regarding the relation between the roles of law in evolving spatial governance. Understanding the different roles of law in planning, and their interplay in the evolution of the planning system, adds to the scientific and societal debates on planning and law, where hitherto polarizing discourses (planning vs law) dominated the discussion. More broadly, our perspective on the enabling, codifying and delimiting functions of law in planning sheds a new light on the potential and limitation of both law and planning to shape the future of communities.
Evolutionary Governance Theory is a novel perspective on the way societies, markets and governanc... more Evolutionary Governance Theory is a novel perspective on the way societies, markets and governance evolve. It integrates concepts and insights from various theoretical sources into a new coherent framework. This book aims to explore how this framework can be further developed and how it can be applied to a range of governance issues. This chapter present a brief introduction into the book and a reading guide that gives an overview of the different contributions.
This chapter briefly outlines the theoretical framework of Evolutionary Governance Theory. It pre... more This chapter briefly outlines the theoretical framework of Evolutionary Governance Theory. It presents its architecture as well as the most important concepts and their relations. We emphasize the concepts of contingency and co- evolution, which serve as the base of an analysis of co- evolving configurations: actor/ institutions, formal/informal, and power/knowledge. We discuss the three dependencies: path dependence, interdependence, and goal dependence and reflect on governance techniques and steering options. For a more detailed overview of EGT we refer to the book: ‘Evolutionary Governance Theory, an introduction’ (Van Assche et al., 2014a). For a further elaboration on the relations between concepts we also refer to the Glossary chapter at the end of this book.
In this chapter we develop a theoretical framework, deriving from the social systems theory of Ni... more In this chapter we develop a theoretical framework, deriving from the social systems theory of Niklas Luhmann and Evolutionary Governance Theory, to grasp the paradoxes of current notions of innovation in governance, and to outline an alternative approach. A renewed reflection on innovation we deem essential for an understanding of the potential for delineating the limits and possibilities of managing, steering or planning innovation in such endeavour. Innovation, it is argued, has to be understood as a post- hoc interpretation of previous decisions and actions, emerging in shifting networks of actors and allies. It is a risky and unpredictable operation at the intersection of incompatible understandings of the world. Managing, steering or planning innovation, then, has to be understood as the creation of conditions for reflection, including the reflection on the redistribution of risks engendered by innovation.
In this contribution we explore the pathways of the Dutch planning system and its potential to ad... more In this contribution we explore the pathways of the Dutch planning system and its potential to adapt to a continuously changing society. It presents a possible answer to the question that frames this book: ‘How can researchers and practitioners incorporate new insights about complexity and non-linearity into their work and develop new strategies and tools that can be used to engage planning in the processes of coevolution’. We will argue that answering these questions demand a thorough understanding of the governance structures and the social processes of adaptation and coevolution in which planning is embedded. It requires insight in how planners and planning systems can perform roles within a world that is unpredictable, and in which interventions do not necessarily have the anticipated effects
Introduction
This chapter introduces a number of concepts from Niklas Luhmann’s social systems th... more Introduction This chapter introduces a number of concepts from Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory as they relate to innovation, transition and transition management. An understanding of Luhmann’s ideas on innovation and steering is essential to grasp a Luhmannian view of system innovation and transition management. Two levels of analysis are developed. The first level centres on the political system, pushing innovation and trying to manage transition, while the second level focuses on organisations and their attempts to innovate. Luhmann is eminently useful in relating the two levels and thus in laying the groundwork for a theory of innovation and transition. An analysis of the development of Dutch discourse on systems innovation, social engineering and transition management since the 1990s serves to illustrate and apply the social systems perspective. Finally, the chapter argues that modernist notions of steering pervading the governance system overestimate the role of governmental actors and underestimate other sources of innovation and systemic innovation that could be labelled ‘transition’.
Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998) has been described as the greatest social scientist of the 20th century, but many of his concepts have been remarkably unexplored and left without much application. One of the fields in which his insights did gain influence is in organisation and management theory. The following analysis of innovation and transition owes a debt to the work conducted in that particular field of application (e.g. Seidl, 2005; Hernes and Backen, 2002; Teubner, 1996; Fuchs, 2001), allowing for a smoother transition from grand theory to analyses of practice. Luhmann perceived society as a collection of interacting social systems, and he saw social systems as systems of communication. Each social system creates its own reality through communication, based on specific distinctions and specific modes of reproduction. Systems are operationally closed: everything happens in system conditions, according to the logic of the system. Observations of environments use the logic and semantics of the system itself. And the influence
of the environment is only indirect, through interpretation.
SUMMARY This paper presents the preliminary findings of an ongoing study towards novel approaches... more SUMMARY This paper presents the preliminary findings of an ongoing study towards novel approaches of land re-allotment in the Netherlands. In the traditional approaches to land consolidation, planning experts played an important role. They were the ones who based on an inventory of current ownership and use rights and the wishes of individual land owners, developed and proposed a land consolidation plan. The more participatory and voluntary forms of re-allotment processes require a more active role of land owners and accordingly a different process. Two different approaches to land re-allotment can be distinguished in current practice in the Netherlands: one whereby land owners individually discuss the development with a facilitating coordinator (facilitated decision-making), and another whereby land owners together discuss the development (collective decision-making). Both practices co-exist depending on land owners' and governments' preferences. This study compares both approaches of re-allotment, paying attention to ways in which stakeholders perceive the process and its outcomes. We are particularly interested in the role of trust in these processes. The study shows that the interplay between the institutional framework and trust helps explaining how land re-allotment processes unfold and how the involved actors evaluate the process and its outcomes. The findings from this study offer a novel angle for analysing policies and practices of land governance and insights that can be used for developing more effective and legitimate approaches and instruments that are appreciated and trusted by all relevant stakeholders.
In this article we investigate the value of and use Machialli's work for Community-Based Natural ... more In this article we investigate the value of and use Machialli's work for Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). We made a selection of five topics derived from literature on NRM and CBNRM: 1. Law and Policy, 2. Justice, 3. Participation, 4. Transparency and Management and 5. Leadership and Management. We use Machiavelli's work to analyze these topics and embed the results in a narrative intended to lead into the final conclusions, where the overarching theme of natural resource management for the common good is considered. Machiavelli's focus on practical realities produces new, sometimes unsettling, insights. We conclude that this focus helps to understand the development and performance of management regimes and their consequences and that institutional design should be seen as an ongoing process, which requires a constant adaptation of these institutions.
Landscape research is increasingly taking the form of action research. This article explores whic... more Landscape research is increasingly taking the form of action research. This article explores which consequences this has for the roles of scientists and knowledge. It presents a theoretical perspective for understanding the power/knowledge dynamics at work in action research projects and draws on the science-shop project SintJan Kloosterburen to illustrate how roles and knowledge are actively negotiated between involved actors and influenced by the wider societal debate in which the research process is embedded. Although action researchers often present themselves as heroes and bringers of knowledge, the actual processes and mechanisms at work urge another understanding of the role of researchers and knowledge within action research.
Burgerinitiatieven op het terrein van natuur- en landschapsbeheer, traditioneel het domein van ov... more Burgerinitiatieven op het terrein van natuur- en landschapsbeheer, traditioneel het domein van overheden, nemen in aantal toe. Wat betekent dat voor de rol van kennis en van kennisproducenten op deze terreinen? Daar is nog maar weinig empirisch onderzoek naar gedaan. Maar ervaring met onderzoek voor en met burgerinitiatieven is er wel degelijk, namelijk bij wetenschapswinkels. In dit themanummer van LANDSCHAP zijn projecten van de Wageningse wetenschapswinkel object van analyse naar de veranderende rol van kennis in de participatiemaatschappij.
Go to AGRIS search. Try it! Traffic management at leisure destinations in the countryside: an int... more Go to AGRIS search. Try it! Traffic management at leisure destinations in the countryside: an integrated approach for transportation and tourism planning. ...
In many member states of the European Union the implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directiv... more In many member states of the European Union the implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directive is problematic. In the Netherlands many decision making processes ended up with judicial intervention. Nature conservation has become a legalistic discourse. Nature ...
Many discussions on good governance tend to revolve around the question which models of governanc... more Many discussions on good governance tend to revolve around the question which models of governance perform best in terms of general principles such as inclusiveness, equitability, legitimacy, responsiveness, transparency, and effectiveness. Less attention has been given to the actual reforms that are informed by these models. How does the implementation of these models, in particular communities, produce certain outcomes? Do these models indeed lead to good governance, or at least better governance? And how can their interplay with the existing model of governance be understood?
The International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreational and Protect... more The International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas brings together researcher and practitioners working on protected areas from all over the world. It is an important platform for exchanging practices and experiences. In my keynote lecture I addressed the importance of governance and the particularities of a particular area, the need for constant adaptation and innovation, and argued that a focus on innovation and project-based funding might distract attention and resources from important aspects of management and governance, such as maintenance, that help sustaining the area and its qualities in the long-run. Innovation has become a key topic in the ongoing search for more effective, efficient and legitimate forms of protected area governance. In response to changing circumstances, new management challenges, and failed policies, managers of protected areas are continuously rethinking and adapting their policies and practices and exploring new ones. Over the years it has become clear that the sustainable management of protected areas remains a difficult challenge. The huge diversity of practices shows that protected areas can be governed in many different ways and that approaches should be dynamic. Management practices regularly need to be revised in order to adapt to changing social and ecological circumstances. Managers for example need to deal with increasing visitor numbers, changing visitor' demands, environmental pressures due to recreational activities, budget cuts, or changing organizational beliefs. To some extend such changes reflect wider societal developments, such as emerging trends in outdoor activities, a changing political landscape, or economic ups and downs. It has also become clear that in order to understand and adapt current practices that protected area management should be understood as embedded in governance, taking into account the interplay between the management of the area and dynamics in the wider social-ecological environment. Shifting forms of governance are an important driver for innovation. Traditionally public organizations played a pivotal role, taking the lead in coordinating the different land use activities and designing and implementing a wide range of policies, laws and plans that help in protecting, managing and developing protected areas. In the last decade the role of governmental organizations has changed and increasingly attention is given to participatory and privately initiated forms of governance that give a more important role to citizens and entrepreneurs (e.g. Owley and Rissman, 2016; Van Assche et al., 2016). These shifts in governance are reflected accordingly in the strategies and instruments that actors are using to govern protected areas and manage visitor flows. Traditional hierarchical forms of governance, often focusing on conservation, are complemented and replaced with new forms that focus on participatory forms of planning, public-private partnerships, and place branding strategies. In the Netherlands, for example, we can observe a diminishing political support for strict protection, a reduction of available resources, and a growing emphasis on tourism development and branding. This urged managers of protected areas to look for new approaches, new partnerships, and new sources of income, such as recreation and tourism. Innovation is also stimulated through the exchange of ideas, experiences and possible management models. A wide variety of models and approaches have been developed in the ongoing search for
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Papers by Raoul Beunen
This chapter introduces a number of concepts from Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory as they relate to innovation, transition and transition management. An understanding of Luhmann’s ideas on innovation and steering is essential to grasp a Luhmannian view of system innovation and transition management. Two levels of analysis are developed. The first level centres on the political system, pushing innovation and trying to manage transition, while the second level focuses on organisations and their attempts to innovate. Luhmann is eminently useful in relating the two levels and thus in laying the groundwork for a theory of innovation and transition. An analysis of the development of Dutch discourse on systems innovation, social engineering and transition management since the 1990s serves to illustrate and apply the social systems perspective. Finally, the chapter argues that modernist notions of steering pervading the governance system overestimate the role of governmental actors and underestimate other sources of innovation and systemic innovation that could be labelled ‘transition’.
Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998) has been described as the greatest social scientist of the 20th century, but many of his concepts have been remarkably unexplored and left without much application. One of the fields in which his insights did gain influence is in organisation and management theory. The following analysis of innovation and transition owes a debt to the work conducted in that particular field of application (e.g. Seidl, 2005; Hernes and Backen, 2002; Teubner, 1996; Fuchs, 2001), allowing for a smoother transition from grand theory to analyses of practice.
Luhmann perceived society as a collection of interacting social systems, and he saw social systems as systems of communication. Each social system creates its own reality through communication, based on specific distinctions and specific modes of reproduction. Systems are operationally closed: everything happens in system conditions, according to the logic of the system. Observations of environments use the logic and semantics of the system itself. And the influence
of the environment is only indirect, through interpretation.