Climate adaptation on the crossroads of multiple boundaries. Managing boundaries in a complex programme context

Figures & data

Table 1. Operationalization boundary actions. Source: Van Broekhoven et al., 2015, modified by authors.

Dimension	Enactment
	Spanning	Drawing		Challenging
		Reconfirming or establishing	Regulating
Social (boundaries between groups of people, ‘us’ and ‘them’)	Building or enhancing connections with actors across a demarcation	In/excluding actors in decision making or group actions Use of language: We/us–they/them	Buffering or regulating the access of others across a demarcation	Problematizing / changing established demarcations about who is in/excluded in decision-making process
Cognitive (boundaries in conceptions of problems and solutions, possibilities or ideas taken in account)	Strategies enhancing flow of information or ideas across a demarcation, e.g. exploring other’s interests, developing ‘common ground’ shared stories on project	Demarcating limits on (im) possibilities or ideas taken into account Differing conceptions of problems or solutions Dividing who leads on what	Buffering or regulating the flow of information or ideas between social worlds	Problematizing / changing existing frames/ideas or (im)possibilities. Problematizing divisions of roles, tasks, or responsibilities
Physical (physical/ material or territorial boundaries)	Physical connections perceived by involved actors as not directly challenging a demarcation, boundary objects	Physical or territorial (ownership) divisions	Physical interfaces regulating or monitoring the physical flow across	Physical events or things that do not keep to the demarcation between social worlds

Table 2. Data collection.

Document analysis	47 documents covering the studied period 2009–2014, e.g. project documents, minutes of steering group and project group meetings, discussion documents for steering and project group, covenants between actors, documents on the DHZ programme of involved organizations
Observations of meetings	One of the researchers has observed meetings of the project group, steering group, and symposia and workshops organized around the programme from 2012–2014, in total 14 meetings
Interviews	12 interviews with actors from the organizations involved in the DHZ (administrative and political level)

Figure 1. Timeline development Deltaplan Hoge Zandgronden with main events.

Table 3. Illustration of boundary actions Deltaprogramme.

Dimension	Enactment
	Spanning	Drawing	Changing
Social	2009, 2010, 2012 Symposia inviting regional partners and Deltaprogramme From 2010 Occasional visits of Deltaprogramme to DHZ (participating in steering group meeting, informal visit to region) 2011 Involvement chair DHZ in steering group of subprogramme of Deltaprogramme 2014 Intention agreement DHZ signed by 19 regional organizations	–	2009 Start DHZ steering group and project group consisting of regional partners 2012 DHZ starts collaboration with ZON Programme, joint core team and sessions
Cognitive	2009 Strategy document on DHZ, send to potential partners 2009 DHZ steering group decides to continue communication and lobbying towards the Deltaprogramme, keep looking for alignment 2012, 2013 DHZ and ZON jointly develop strategy documents directed at the Deltaprogramme (manifest asking funding and acknowledgement, ‘regional offer’ towards Deltaprogramme)	2009 DHZ actors: drought problems get too little attention in Deltaprogramme 2009 Deltaprogramme will not include DHZ as subprogramme, DHZ will continue by itself	2009 Proposal of DHZ to include itself as subprogramme in Deltaprogramme 2012–2014 Deltaprogramme wants to consult regions. DHZ and ZON organize this for their region and discuss also own strategy documents with regional actors 2013–2014 Representatives of the Deltaprogramme are increasingly involved in the development of the regional offer, e.g. commenting on draft versions 2014 Deltaprogramme takes up regional offer in programme and provides co-financing

Table 4. Illustration of boundary actions spatial planning.

Dimension	Enactment
	Spanning	Drawing	Changing
Social	2010–2013 Steering group wants to involve municipalities and other actors involved in spatial planning and urban environment in DHZ. The actors in DHZ are asked to each contact and inform their planning contacts. 2012 Three municipalities join project group (but soon stop attending meeting) 2012 Representatives of provinces join DHZ core team 2013 Municipality joins project team as agenda member 2014 Municipality signs intention agreement and joins a project group meeting	2010 Core team is set up with only water boards 2012 The three municipalities stop attending meetings, stay on as agenda member	-
Cognitive	2013 Two day workshop to interactively develop spatial planning perspective on two areas 2013 Written consultation of region on implementation programme, one municipality responds	2012 In their strategy document the DHZ actors reflect they have been too oriented on water management and too little on issues of space and place 2013 Statement of municipality at regional consultation that the programme is mainly a technical story and ‘a water board party’, and municipalities are not involved well in the programme	-

Van Broekhoven, S., Boons, F., Van Buuren, A., & Teisman, G. (2015). Boundaries in action: A framework to analyse boundary actions in multifunctional land-use developments. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 33(5), 1005–1023. doi: 10.1177/0263774X15605927

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