Aim
- Engage different local stakeholders during hydrological monitoring activities in urban areas for ownership of the understanding of natural processes
- Promote interest and learning among different stakeholders, at urban or catchment level, through meteorological data collection activities
- Provide recommendations and suggestions to improve potential interaction during field monitoring activities with different stakeholders.
Description
The involvement of local stakeholders during field activities carried out for the inspection, planning or installation of new technologies at the urban level allows to increase the dynamics of the project with the different local stakeholders, as well as to improve communication and understanding between them.
Steps
1. Definition of processes and activities
At the initial stage, it is recommended to define the use of the monitoring results without involving local stakeholders. This allows defining the required inputs for modelling, design or planning activities (see guide “Designing green infrastructure prototypes in developed urban areas“).
2. Identification of responsibilities and roles of stakeholders
At the same time, local stakeholders must be identified and their specific role and responsibility in relation to the activities to be monitored must be understood. A more detailed description for the mapping of such local stakeholders is presented in (see guide “Mapping relevant stakeholders“)
3. Formalities and agenda, including formal inter-institutional cooperation agreements
One of the major constraints during participatory collaboration lies in the bureaucratic formalities required to establish cooperative links. In this respect, it is recommended to establish the first contact with the most senior coordinators or decision-makers. For example, mayors or urban planning coordinators at the municipal level have the power to set and order times and activities of their employees, which increases the opportunities for collaboration at lower levels of the institutional hierarchy.
It is necessary to identify the means of communication, both formal (e-mails) and informal (mobile phones) for the coordination of activities.
Once the activities are defined, the distribution of tasks should be coordinated. It is recommended that at least two meeting reminders be made, one during planning with the actors and another one day before the activity.
4. Communication and planning, including commitments made by different actors
The initial approach to local stakeholders must take into account time constraints, resources (e.g. mobility and transport), and personal or institutional interest. Interacting with different stakeholders is a multidimensional process, i.e. with different technicians, professionals, social actors, or citizens in different spaces and stages.
The explanation of the objectives of monitoring should be concise and clear. Shared responsibilities and agendas should be explicit.
5. Evaluation of technical language to facilitate understanding by stakeholders during field activities
The language and vocabulary to be used varies between actors. For example, the definition of a river basin may be easily understood by actors in decision-making hierarchies, but hardly understood by citizens who are not involved with such concepts in their daily lives. During initial field visits and relationship building, the terms used and references to some field processes should be considered. This allows for better communication with citizens as well as with technicians and municipal workers.
6. Assignment of responsibilities:
Coordinate with local stakeholders on responsibilities for the care and handling of instruments used for monitoring.
The images show the collaboration of the staff of the municipality of Flores during the installation of sensors for the monitoring of the urban water cycle in the context of the SEE-URBAN-WATER project.
Results
- Local empowerment for cooperation, operation and maintenance of monitoring networks.
- Increased awareness and understanding of urban hydrological processes by different local stakeholders.
Rules
- The use of language and terms should be appropriate to the type of stakeholder.
- Monitoring responsibilities should be explicit, as well as the times and agendas used to carry out the activities.
- Stakeholder involvement is recommended from the initial approach to relevant decision-makers in the study area.
In addition, the time spent by each stakeholder should be remunerated. While technicians and employees receive an economic income for the activities they carry out, residents rarely see a direct benefit of their own by engaging in participatory monitoring activities. In the absence of financial resources to remunerate them, the benefit they derive from their participation must be tangible and understood.
Scopes and challenges
- Coordination of responsibilities for the operation and maintenance of a monitoring network requires continuous effort, hence also commitment of the stakeholders after installation.
- The involvement of key actors requires the identification of synergies and shared objectives for the use of the results. This allows to enhance the functioning of and interest in the operation of monitoring networks.