Browsing by Author "Muro, Melanie"
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Item Open Access The role of social learning in participatory planning & management of water resources(Cranfield University, 2008-11) Muro, Melanie; Jeffrey, PaulNatural Resource Management processes are undergoing major transformations: technical and regulatory mechanisms are no longer considered sufficiently adaptive to address the complexity and uncertainty which characterise contemporary challenges in the sector, thus motivating wider use of integrated and collaborative approaches. Against this background, new models of participative management are encouraged which emphasise social learning among stakeholders. Yet, reported research which unambiguously demonstrates the role and impact of social learning remains sparse. This thesis contributes to a better understanding of the conditions under which social learning occurs, and most importantly the dynamics and benefits of social learning by systematically collecting evidence of the processes and impacts attributed to social learning. The research which employs a sequential mixed methods research design is undertaken with stakeholders involved in various engagement activities forming part of the implementation of the WFD in the UK, Ireland, and Germany and expands the still limited empirical knowledge base on social leaning in stakeholder interaction. Findings demonstrate that participatory platforms are shaped by processes of social learning although they are more noticeable as collaborative initiatives mature. Also, there is some degree of variation in the extent to which people learn or change, with stakeholders readily acquiring knowledge and improving relationships. However, the transformation of views and the development of a shared group identity seem to be limited. Findings clearly illustrate the multitude of factors that constrain the occurrence of learning processes and eventually limit the extent to which these can contribute to sustainable NRM. Foremost, this study reinforces the importance of the actual communicative learning process, the quality and intensity of which is largely influenced by the organisational arrangements and, more fundamentally, the ability of the stakeholders to shape the process.Item Open Access Time to Talk? How the Structure of Dialog Processes Shapes Stakeholder Learning in Participatory Water Resources Management(The Resilience Alliance, 2012-12-31T00:00:00Z) Muro, Melanie; Jeffrey, PaulPublic participation is increasingly viewed as a means to initiate social learning among stakeholders, resource managers, and policy makers rather than to ensure democratic representation. This growing understanding of participatory activities as learning platforms can be seen as a direct response to shifts in how natural resources management is framed, namely as uncertain, non-linear, and interlinked with the human dimensions. Social learning as it is discussed within the natural resources management (NRM) context features a process of collective and communicative learning that is thought to enable stakeholders to arrive at a shared understanding of a specific environmental situation and to develop new solutions as well as ways of acting together in pursuit of a shared ambition. Yet, although case-study research on social-learning processes provides multiple accounts of positive experiences, there are also reports of mistaken learning, the intensification of tensions or conflict, and failure to reach agreement or verifiable consensus. Based on results of a postal survey of stakeholder experiences in two involvement initiatives, we can draw two main conclusions: First, social learning is a multidimensional and dynamic process and, as such, evolves in stages and to various degrees. Second, stakeholder processes are shaped and affected by a multitude of factors that constrain the occurrence of learning processes and eventually limit the extent to which these can contribute to sustainable NRM. Foremost, the fact that the intensity of stakeholder learning differed in the two investigated initiatives reinforces the role organizational arrangements play in encouraging the type of communicative process necessary for stakeholder learning.