So what? Why we need interpretive methods for water governance...

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So what? Why we need Interpretive Methods (IM)
for water governance...
Research principally concerned with
understandings and meanings given to different
policies and practices in the water field.
Experiences from Ashford Integrated Alternatives
RACHEL MACRORIE r.macrorie_at_bradford.ac.uk rachelma
crorie_at_googlemail.com
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Research interests

• Governance of change towards more sustainable
  systems
• Water energy consumption ( production)
• RA Public engagement in water energy
  systems - Ashford Integrated Alternatives
• PhD Energy use, carbon reduction
  behaviour change

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IM water governance

• Technological approaches dominate
• the sector
• Positivist research approaches
• perpetuate systems of organisation
• We will only succeed in making changes if we
  adopt a new comprehensive approach (DEFRA,
  20052)
• Take account of the social and institutional
  context of consumer action (Jackson, 2005 v)

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IM benefits

• Provides valuable concrete, context dependent
  knowledge (Flyvbjerg, 2006).
• To understand actions, practices and
  institutions, we need to grasp
• the relevant meanings, beliefs and preferences
  of the people involved
• (Bevir and Rhodes, 2004)
• Unpacks power structures
• Space for reflection, learning renegotiation
• Challenges existing understandings
• Sets precedent for new approaches

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AIA Savings at Home retrofit
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Cultural theory framework
Resource ownership responsibility
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Research outcomes
Information encouragement This is what we
should be doing more of, actually giving people
information, encouraging them, reducing our
resource use
Goal-orientated behaviour Im not trying to
get down to a particular unit of electricity
usage per week
Collective challenge The costs are part of it
but environmentally, the fact that its going to
run out...weve really got to do our bit to save
what we can
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IM designed intervention

• Demonstrable Impacts
• Neighbourhood integrated approach
• - Broader sustainability approach
• - Trust of lead organisation credibility of
  intervention
• Desired Impacts
• Action Research
• Community based approaches
• Deliberative decision making

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Overcoming barriers to IM
Barrier to IM research
1. Not a tried and tested approach in socio-technical-systems research
2. Exploratory, not predictive
3. Resource (time, money) intensive
4. Premised on ideas about power relations altering systems of provision
5. Outcomes might be challenging e.g. advocating public engagement
6. Requires institutional openness to expose reflect upon learning
Means to overcome barrier
Demonstrate application and promote successful cases
Explain added-value of IM research
Added value interdisciplinary research
Involve resource governance organisations throughout
Present results constructively link to current political agendas
Manage expectations