Clusters of water governance problems and their effects on policy delivery
Public policy problems are increasingly being characterised as wicked or tame problems, assuming that this classification is also meaningful for attempts to effective problem-solving. But do distinct ‘wicked’ or ‘tame’ problems empirically exist? We investigate 37 water-related problems in Germany,...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford University Press
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Policy & Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14494035.2019.1586081 |
| _version_ | 1811326767791603712 |
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| author | Sabrina Kirschke Christian Franke Jens Newig Dietrich Borchardt |
| author_facet | Sabrina Kirschke Christian Franke Jens Newig Dietrich Borchardt |
| author_sort | Sabrina Kirschke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Public policy problems are increasingly being characterised as wicked or tame problems, assuming that this classification is also meaningful for attempts to effective problem-solving. But do distinct ‘wicked’ or ‘tame’ problems empirically exist? We investigate 37 water-related problems in Germany, based on interview-based data on problem wickedness and official data on policy delivery. Our analysis clearly reveals four clusters of water governance problems (system complexity, uncertainty, tame and wicked problems), based on variations of three factors of wickedness (goals, uncertainty and system complexity). These clusters of problems vary in their effects on different dimensions of policy delivery (goal formulation, stages and degrees of implementation of measures), with significant effects on goal formulation and the number of measures ‘in construction’. These empirical insights may contribute to a more systematic design of governance strategies for addressing water governance problems in practice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:54:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f0e03abf2bd941cdb9feb2898d87448f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1449-4035 1839-3373 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:54:51Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | Oxford University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Policy & Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-f0e03abf2bd941cdb9feb2898d87448f2022-12-22T02:42:28ZengOxford University PressPolicy & Society1449-40351839-33732019-04-0138225527710.1080/14494035.2019.15860811586081Clusters of water governance problems and their effects on policy deliverySabrina Kirschke0Christian Franke1Jens Newig2Dietrich Borchardt3Leuphana University of LüneburgHumboldt Universität zu BerlinLeuphana University of LüneburgHelmholtz Centre for Environmental ResearchPublic policy problems are increasingly being characterised as wicked or tame problems, assuming that this classification is also meaningful for attempts to effective problem-solving. But do distinct ‘wicked’ or ‘tame’ problems empirically exist? We investigate 37 water-related problems in Germany, based on interview-based data on problem wickedness and official data on policy delivery. Our analysis clearly reveals four clusters of water governance problems (system complexity, uncertainty, tame and wicked problems), based on variations of three factors of wickedness (goals, uncertainty and system complexity). These clusters of problems vary in their effects on different dimensions of policy delivery (goal formulation, stages and degrees of implementation of measures), with significant effects on goal formulation and the number of measures ‘in construction’. These empirical insights may contribute to a more systematic design of governance strategies for addressing water governance problems in practice.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14494035.2019.1586081Cluster analysiscomplex problemsEuropean Water Framework Directivewater pollutionwater quality |
| spellingShingle | Sabrina Kirschke Christian Franke Jens Newig Dietrich Borchardt Clusters of water governance problems and their effects on policy delivery Policy & Society Cluster analysis complex problems European Water Framework Directive water pollution water quality |
| title | Clusters of water governance problems and their effects on policy delivery |
| title_full | Clusters of water governance problems and their effects on policy delivery |
| title_fullStr | Clusters of water governance problems and their effects on policy delivery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Clusters of water governance problems and their effects on policy delivery |
| title_short | Clusters of water governance problems and their effects on policy delivery |
| title_sort | clusters of water governance problems and their effects on policy delivery |
| topic | Cluster analysis complex problems European Water Framework Directive water pollution water quality |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14494035.2019.1586081 |
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