Abstract
Abstract. In recent years, governmental institutes have started to use citizen science as a form of public participation. The Dutch water authorities are among them. They face pressure on the water governance system and a water awareness gap among the general public, and consider citizen science a possible solution. The reasons for practitioners to engage in citizen science, and in particular those of government practitioners, have seldom been studied. This article aims to pinpoint the various viewpoints of practitioners at Dutch regional water authorities on citizen science. A Q-methodological approach was used because it allows for exploration of viewpoints and statistical analysis using a small sample size. Practitioners (33) at eight different water authorities ranked 46 statements from agree to disagree. Three viewpoints were identified with a total explained variance of 67 %. Viewpoint A considers citizen science a potential solution that can serve several purposes, thereby encouraging citizen participation in data collection and analysis. Viewpoint B considers citizen science a method for additional, illustrative data. Viewpoint C views citizen science primarily as a means of education. These viewpoints show water practitioners in the Netherlands are willing to embrace citizen science at water authorities, although there is no support for higher levels of citizen engagement.
Highlights
The OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) named the Netherlands “an international example” of water resource management in their 2014 report, but warns against “a striking awareness gap among Dutch citizens related to key water management functions, how they are performed and by whom” (OECD, 2014, p. 21)
The 33 Q-sorts resulted in the identification of three factors from which three viewpoints were derived: A “Citizen participation for data application”, B “Water authority in control”, and C “Education and sharing local knowledge”
Statement 9 (“Citizen Science enables the collection of large amounts of measurements”, Theme III Purposes of Citizen Science) would be placed under most agree by a person with Factor A, under agree for Factor B and under neutral for Factor C
Summary
The OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) named the Netherlands “an international example” of water resource management in their 2014 report, but warns against “a striking awareness gap among Dutch citizens related to key water management functions, how they are performed and by whom” (OECD, 2014, p. 21). The OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) named the Netherlands “an international example” of water resource management in their 2014 report, but warns against “a striking awareness gap among Dutch citizens related to key water management functions, how they are performed and by whom” Citizens’ behaviour counteracts efforts of water authorities; flood defences are violated by property development and civic pollution is common (OECD, 2014). Citizens and interest groups do not recognize water threats (Tielrooij, 2000), which causes a decreasing support for investments in flood defence and water quality management (OECD, 2014; Tielrooij, 2000; UvW, 2015a). The Dutch water authorities (Unie van Waterschappen, UvW) governing body concluded that collaboration with other government layers, industry, interest groups and citizens is needed (UvW, 2015a).
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