Integral Collaboration in the Water Sector 

Every life on the planet is influenced by the water around us. Current challenges in the water sector need to be dealt with in a way that considers multiple perspectives. Moreover, the various actors in the water sector may work on these challenges from the research perspective or the practitioner perspective, both of which are different. We collaborated with KWR, a Watercycle research institute in the Netherlands, to investigate the challenges that arise in transdisciplinary collaborations, and then used this information to prototype a practical tool that could be used to make collaborations in the water sector more integral and holistic.  

• Collaborator: KWR

• Students: Ameya Menon, Berber Siersma, Eva Biesot 

• Supervisors: Jelger Kroese, Milo de Baat 

• Cohort: 2024

Challenge 

Water issues are not isolated – every challenge is a complex interplay of multiple sectors, such as infrastructure, energy and data. This requires collaboration between various actors. Their ability to collaborate, however, is limited due to several problems. A salient problem is a mismatch in the way different disciplines think; often, these differences are hard to translate across disciplinary boundaries. Sectoral differences also appear when we consider priorities – what a research group prioritises is not necessarily the same as practitioners in a water company. Another problem that may arise in large transdisciplinary collaborations is a lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities, as well as the lack of investment in communication about them. In order to tackle water issues in a more integrated manner, transdisciplinary collaborations require a form of support that addresses these problem factors. A more integrated water sector is better equipped to enact holistic solutions. 

Approach 

We studied the issues that transdisciplinary collaborators in the water sector are facing through a literature study, semi-structured interviews, and the observation of a collaborative session. Using this information as a foundation, we facilitated a brainstorm session with various experts on transdisciplinary collaborations to ideate upon a tool that people could use to overcome these challenges. We further conceptualized and pitched our novel tool to our project partners at KWR.  

Outcomes 

We: 

• Identified several patterns in challenges that arise when establishing integral collaboration. This included differences between partners in the following aspects: 

• Motivation (why are you involved in the project?) 

• Language (how do we understand each other's concepts?) 

• Practicalities (what environment do we use to share sensitive information?) 

• Communication (how often, and by which methods, do we communicate?) 

• Disciplinary differences (how can we transfer knowledge from one discipline to another?) 

• Clarity (what are our roles and responsibilities?) 

• Developed a tool which would first map collaborators’ roles and responsibilities and then prompt a dialogue to clarify them better through mutual discussion. The tool was created to be applied in a generalized context; i.e., it could also be applied outside the context of KWR.  

• Created a list of recommendations regarding the ideal conditions in which to use the tool, as well as supportive factors, such as a good social environment outside the project content context and iterative meetings as a returning point of reflection 

Student team