2C FRAS: From severe disruption to innovation and learning in climate adaptation work

Context

Flooding and cloudbursts are weather phenomena that, in light of ongoing climate change, are expected to occur more frequently in the future. Examples from both abroad and Sweden illustrate how these events can cause severe disruptions to road and water infrastructure, significantly impacting people and organizations. Since water flows across both geographical and organizational boundaries, collaboration is required between multiple actors – both public and private, with different goals and responsibilities – in order to mitigate the impact on infrastructure in both the short and long term when flooding or cloudbursts occur.

Solution

Using water councils as an organizational model, we study whether and in what ways the water council, as a forum and structure, fosters learning, adaptation, and new forms of policy and practice in response to climate change. Learning is crucial because it influences how actors seek out, perceive, and adopt new forms of interaction, decision-making processes, and governance tools to address climate challenges. The overarching goal of the project is to generate new, applicable knowledge about whether and in what ways a water council can help reduce disruptions to infrastructure during flooding and cloudbursts, as well as to investigate which new actors or organizations are emerging in the water sector due to climate change. What political and administrative lessons have water councils developed as a result of flooding and cloudbursts? How do these lessons manifest in practice? What (organizational) opportunities and obstacles exist in using a water council to implement measures aimed at preventing severe infrastructure disruptions?

Project goals

The project aims to deliver the following results:

1) Knowledge on how organizing through a water council can serve as a means to implement climate adaptation measures;

2) Increased understanding of how different actors’ perspectives and responsibilities regarding water influence efforts to address severe infrastructure disruptions;

3) Knowledge about how serious disruptions involve distributive learning, which can generate new methods, planning tools, and practices within maintenance organizations;

4) Recommendations on how learning within and across organizational boundaries can be ensured and shared following a major disruption; and

5) Dissemination of knowledge within and between maintenance organizations on how they work to prevent and manage serious disruptions to water and road infrastructure.