Narrative perspectives on the development of coastal pilot projects

Abstract

Pilot projects are favoured instruments for exploring and perhaps realising policy change. The challenges that coastal policy faces, the frequency with which pilot projects are implemented, and the criticisms regarding their efficacy make it interesting and relevant to study pilot projects in this policy field. This dissertation on ‘Narrative perspectives on the development of coastal pilot projects’ aims to deepen understanding of the development of pilot projects in their actor-networks. It utilises the concept of narratives both in the conceptualisation of the development of pilot projects and in the design of a research strategy, choosing to learn from the experiences of actors involved in coastal pilot projects. The Sand Engine in the Netherlands and Ystad’s sand nourishment project in Scania, Sweden, are the two coastal pilot projects from which empirical data are drawn. Retrospective biographies of the Sand Engine pilot project, and the narrative competitions active in both the Sand Engine and Ystad cases were identified using deductive and inductive narrative analysis methods. This thesis highlights that pilot projects function not only as learning instruments for understanding the (bio)physical system, but also as instruments where actor-based learning is storified and success can be claimed and institutionally anchored.