Hoolohan, C;
Larkin, A;
McLachlan, C;
Falconer, R;
Soutar, I;
Suckling, J;
Varga, L;
... Yu, D; + view all
(2018)
Engaging stakeholders in research to address water–energy–food (WEF) nexus challenges.
Sustainability Science
, 13
(5)
pp. 1415-1426.
10.1007/s11625-018-0552-7.
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Abstract
The water-energy-food (WEF) nexus has become a popular, and potentially powerful, frame through which to analyse interactions and interdependencies between these three systems. Though the case for transdisciplinary research in this space has been made, the extent of stakeholder engagement in research remains limited with stakeholders most commonly incorporated in research as end-users. Yet, stakeholders interact with nexus issues in a variety of ways, consequently there is much that collaboration might offer to develop nexus research and enhance its application. This paper outlines four aspects of nexus research and considers the value and potential challenges for transdisciplinary research in each. We focus on assessing and visualising nexus systems; understanding governance and capacity building; the importance of scale; and the implications of future change. The paper then proceeds to describe a novel mixed-method study that deeply integrates stakeholder knowledge with insights from multiple disciplines. We argue that mixed-method research designs-in this case orientated around a number of cases studies-are best suited to understanding and addressing real-world nexus challenges, with their inevitable complex, non-linear system characteristics. Moreover, integrating multiple forms of knowledge in the manner described in this paper enables research to assess the potential for, and processes of, scaling-up innovations in the nexus space, to contribute insights to policy and decision making.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Engaging stakeholders in research to address water–energy–food (WEF) nexus challenges |
| Location: | Japan |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11625-018-0552-7 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0552-7 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author(s) 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. |
| Keywords: | Energy, Mixed-method, Nexus, Transdisciplinary, Water |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Civil, Environ and Geomatic Eng |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10067282 |
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