ICT Tools to Support Public Participation in Water Resources Governance & Planning: Experiences from the Design and Testing of a Multi-Media Platform

Abstract

Whilst the drivers for public participation in water resources management have been firmly established by the Water Framework Directive, guidance on the design, implementation and management of appropriate tools, particularly Information & Communication Technology (ICT) based tools, and processes to support such participation remains sparse. This paper begins by reviewing the motivations for stakeholder participation in water resources planning & governance and highlighting some of the methodological and technical problems associated with the design and deployment of suitable ICT platforms. It then goes on to report the design and field testing of a specific Multi-Media based ICT platform for use in stakeholder debates, drawing on case study material from a catchment in Southern France. Specifically, we focus our comments on the issues of content structuring, information presentation, knowledge quality and tool functionality, seen as the major determinants of the tool's ability to support dialogue among non-scientific stakeholders. Finally, we draw conclusions about the experimental deployment of the tool, draw out lessons for future design and implementation activities, and comment on some of the limitations emergent from the use of the tool.