Policy Entrepreneurs in Water Governance ― Strategies for Change

This book analyses policy making processes at the micro-level and offers a unique insight into the fascinating world of policy entrepreneurs, elucidating their strategic modus operandi. The author identifies change strategies and explores the role of individuals in policy change processes. Readers will see how these highly talented and exceptional bureaucrats are constantly on the alert for new opportunities and have the capacity to “sell” and “market” new ideas. Based on a uniquely comprehensive four-year study, entailing more than 60 in-depth interviews and an extensive survey of over 300 water policy entrepreneurs in the Netherlands, this book explores the different strategies that policy entrepreneurs employ. It identifies which conditions affect the policy entrepreneur’s selection of strategies and more importantly, it assesses the (contextual) effectiveness of these strategies. Although the context of the study makes this work directly relevant to those in the fields of water resources and environmental management, it delivers universally relevant conclusions on affecting policy change. In addition to the theoretical material that will appeal to scholars and students, this book highlights a series of concrete recommendations for practitioners on how to affect policy change, making it of interest to academics and decision makers in the broad areas of policy change, sustainability and water management.

Stijn Brouwer is a senior researcher and consultant in the fields of water governance, sustainability, policy change and strategic decision making at KWR Watercycle Research Institute in the Netherlands. He obtained his PhD at the VU University Amsterdam, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), in 2013. Brouwer has a multidisciplinary background, having studied both Social Sciences and Environmental and Resource Management at the University of Pretoria (South Africa), Sodertorn University (Sweden), the University of Amsterdam (NL) and at the VU University Amsterdam (NL). He holds a Master of Arts in Social Sciences as well as a Master of Science in Environment and Resource Management, both from the VU University Amsterdam. Brouwer has participated in several projects on water governance and water and climate change, including the EU-FP7 project ‘DEMOWARE’ on innovative water reuse solutions in the European Union, and the EU-FP6 project ‘NeWater’ on adaptive integrated water resources management. He has published both in academic and professional journals, presented his work at various international conferences, delivered guest lectures at a number of professional and academic fora. He is a member of the OECD Water Governance Initiative and has contributed to the recent report ‘Water Governance in the Netherlands: Fit for the Future?’.