Learning in a sustainable water management project

Need to broaden water management

This section describes first and second order learning in the course of the Dutch project 'Zaandam-Ooost' on sustainable urban water management. The project was part of the Waarden van Water programme run by NIDO, an organisation founded by the Dutch government to promote  sustainable development that existed from 1999 until the end of 2004. NIDO recognised the problems associated with urban water management: excessive use of drinking water, diffuse contamination of ground water and contaminated sewage sediment. It was aware of the need for an integrated approach of urban water management not only to reduce chemical pollution but also to enhance ecological and recreational values. But that objective was hampered by the strict division of responsibilities between the three public authorities invovled: the regional water boards, which were responsible for maintaining dikes and preserving the quality and quantity of water in the region, the water companies and the local authorities.

Learning context: the Zaandam-Oost project

The Zaandam-Oost project was a collaborative effort of the local water board, water company and local authority. As part of the project the parties formulated a common long-term vision for water management in 2030 that incorporated ecological aspects. Another element of the project involved designing a sustainable water system for an existing residential neighbourhood that had already integrated some of the measures formulated in the vision. Many stakeholders and experts were consulted at workshops and in interviews and were encouraged to work on the project.

First order learning

The evaluation of the project showed that the participants' ideas about solutions and problems changed as a result of the project. Various stakeholders learned where measures to make urban water management sustainable could be applied, while one participant said he had also learned how specific social and culture values could be drawn on. These ideas however they remained within their existing thought patterns, and therefore are first-order learning.

Second order learning

For the water board, however, there was also second order learning. It was used to solving problems itself because of its deeper convictions concerning autonomy and its technical expertise. The board came to realise that it depended on other actors for sustainable water management. It came to embrace a long-term perspective and started to apply new ecology-related values, which previously had not played a prominent role. These shifts in deeper values and convictions prompted new initiatives. For example, the water board started actively approaching cities that had plans for urban regeneration to persuade them to adopt the new ideas yielded by the Zaandam-Oost project. The water board also started facilitating the process, even going so far as to hire a professional facilitator. 

Positive conditions for second order learning

Van Mierlo et al. mention three conditions that favour first and second order learning

• The first is that the project to be learned from should focus on problems and objectives that the participants can identify with
• The learning process will also benefit if the various stakeholders feel they depend on one another to find solutions for problems or otherwise make progress
• A third positive condition seems to be that the participants feel that they own the learning project.

Sources

Van Mierlo, B., C. Leeuwis, R. Smits en R.Klein Woolthuis (2010). Learning towards system innovation: Evaluating a systemic instrument. Technological Forecasting & Social change 77, pp. 318- 334.