Chapter 3
The Governance Assessment Tool
and Its Use
Hans Bressers, Nanny Bressers, Stefan Kuks and Corinne Larrue
3.1 Introduction: The Implementation Challenge
Especially in the context of climate change adaptation, the sustainability of natural
resources requires an integrative vision, apt policies and adequate implementation
to realise the proposed measures in practice. Mentioning all three issues does not
imply that they have clear boundaries between them. Instead, between vision and
policies and between policies and their implementation mutual influences occur.
Often policies get further shape in the process of implementing them. This is more
true when the policy formation and implementation have a multi-actor character,
like in most cases of drought resilience management in Northwest Europe. Instead
of singular policies with a separate implementation process, drought management is
often a combination of water system and behavioural adaptations, which relates to
and draws resources from various policy sectors, and requires concerted action on
multiple levels and time scales (Bressers and Lulofs 2010). Such a challenge can be
labelled as complex and dynamic. It requires a lot of ‘connective capacity’
(Edelenbos et al. 2013). It is essentially this nature of ‘complex and dynamic
multi-actor interaction processes’ that requires a good governance context to enable
the realisation of practice projects. Without a good governance context the degree
of trust, openness and mutual liking is likely too low to allow for real cooperation.
In Chap. 1 it has been explained that the analyses in this book make use of a
specific theory and method of governance analysis that aims to be practice oriented in
H. Bressers (&) Á S. Kuks
CSTM, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
e-mail: Hans.bressers@utwente.nl
N. Bressers Á S. Kuks
Water Authority of Vechtstromen, PO Box 5006, 7600 GA Almelo, The Netherlands
C. Larrue
Université Rabelais de Tours, 60 Rue du Plat d’Étain, 37000 Tours, France
© The Author(s) 2016
H. Bressers et al. (eds.), Governance for Drought Resilience,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29671-5_3
45
The Governance Assessment Tool
and Its Use
Hans Bressers, Nanny Bressers, Stefan Kuks and Corinne Larrue
3.1 Introduction: The Implementation Challenge
Especially in the context of climate change adaptation, the sustainability of natural
resources requires an integrative vision, apt policies and adequate implementation
to realise the proposed measures in practice. Mentioning all three issues does not
imply that they have clear boundaries between them. Instead, between vision and
policies and between policies and their implementation mutual influences occur.
Often policies get further shape in the process of implementing them. This is more
true when the policy formation and implementation have a multi-actor character,
like in most cases of drought resilience management in Northwest Europe. Instead
of singular policies with a separate implementation process, drought management is
often a combination of water system and behavioural adaptations, which relates to
and draws resources from various policy sectors, and requires concerted action on
multiple levels and time scales (Bressers and Lulofs 2010). Such a challenge can be
labelled as complex and dynamic. It requires a lot of ‘connective capacity’
(Edelenbos et al. 2013). It is essentially this nature of ‘complex and dynamic
multi-actor interaction processes’ that requires a good governance context to enable
the realisation of practice projects. Without a good governance context the degree
of trust, openness and mutual liking is likely too low to allow for real cooperation.
In Chap. 1 it has been explained that the analyses in this book make use of a
specific theory and method of governance analysis that aims to be practice oriented in
H. Bressers (&) Á S. Kuks
CSTM, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
e-mail: Hans.bressers@utwente.nl
N. Bressers Á S. Kuks
Water Authority of Vechtstromen, PO Box 5006, 7600 GA Almelo, The Netherlands
C. Larrue
Université Rabelais de Tours, 60 Rue du Plat d’Étain, 37000 Tours, France
© The Author(s) 2016
H. Bressers et al. (eds.), Governance for Drought Resilience,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29671-5_3
45