The KIN runs various Knowledge in Action programmes. These programmes are organised thematically with an agenda drawn up in co-creation by experts from research and practice. Collective Water Management is the first Knowledge in Action programme initiated by the KIN. The first projects to receive funding from the call for proposals issued last autumn are now getting underway. On 4 March, representatives of twelve projects (grouped into three tracks) gathered in Utrecht for the kick-off. This was an important meeting with the aim of building a bridge together to accelerate the necessary transition to collective water management and to amplify the voice of individual projects by creating a joint narrative.
‘We absolutely want to prevent all the knowledge generated from disappearing into a drawer,’ opened Ellen Weerman (lecturer in Climate-Resilient Landscapes, HAS). For the programme, she conducted the transition analysis that identified the most urgent themes in the field of water management in the region and integrated them so that the twelve separate projects were incorporated into three coherent tracks. In addition to Ellen Weerman and Veerle Joosen from HAS, this meeting was organised by Anna Noyons, Lorin Kamperman and Brina Orizim from Ink Social Design.
Participants identified factors that will strongly influence the future of collective water management in East Brabant – both changing and unchanged factors – and then clustered them into a common picture. Topics such as changing water management, system changes, governance and cooperation emerged, as well as three substantive themes:
· Culture — ‘How do we experience water?
· Structure — ‘Who owns water and who controls it?
· Working methods — ‘How do we deal with water?
The three substantive themes were further explored in a vision of the future. This clearly shows the wealth of perspectives on water: from greater respect for water as an existential source of life, water as an integral part of a much larger ecosystem, giving water itself a voice, breaking down silos, chain cooperation, giving young people a greater say in how water and nature are managed, to true pricing of water and so much more.
The participants’ input will be processed and presented by the project leaders in a follow-up meeting. In the meantime, the 12 sub-projects in East Brabant are in full swing. The most important outcomes of this programme will be shared – collectively, of course – in a closing festival at the end of 2026.
Curious about which projects have been launched? Read more about them here.