Our approach

Water Governance is about knowing how to deal with water and knowing how to organize multi(p)layer collaboration. Water Governance entails a proactive approach in which technical measures are embedded in a social and political context. Twynstra’s extensive experience shows that successful water management relies on shared responsibilities, cooperation between actors involved, integrative solutions and the need for broad support among stakeholders to make technical measures’ implementation possible and effective on the long term. Our approach towards Water Governance is strongly based on the experience that projects have to be embedded in a social context in order to be successful.

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In addition, we believe collaboration between government, society and engineers is a requirement for sustainable water governance. We aim to develop and empower the water sector around the world by providing the right tools for institutional development, collaboration between (governmental-)organisations and strategic stakeholder participation. Our water governance approach has proven to be successful all over the world.

Institutional and social assessment

Our institutional and social assessments are characterized by a holistic approach. The question being asked is whether the institution or product will effectively do what it aims to do after the advice from the assessment is being implemented. Effective advice will fit within the local context of systems, institutions and decision making processes. Therefore, we assess how the issue is economically, politically and socially embedded. We also focus on the implementation process since this part of the assessment is as important for eventual success as our initial recommendations. In sum, we offer a comprehensive assessment in which we think along to foresee potential obstacles. This does not only provide better diagnoses but also guarantees our advices will be effective for the issue addressed. This will help our clients to improve their institutions and products.

Institutional development

Institutional development requires a holistic approach in which all relevant decision making levels are involved. It is a complex process and therefore requires advisors experienced in (water)policy and law making processes, organisational (re)design and fast-track implementation processes. We contribute through a tailor-made approach, prioritization of most pressing issues and setting up efficient procedures. Building awareness at an early stage is our opinion key for successful institutional development processes. Capacity building and training is another important aspect of our institutional development approach.

Strategic Stakeholder Participation (SSP)

SSP is a proactive stakeholder approach, based on the Mutual Gains principles and developed by Twynstra. This approach helps to avoid conflicts or helps to resolve them if already existing. The success of a SSP approach lays in its honest philosophy and practical appliance. The basis of SSP entails an open attitude in order to acquire correct information as well as support. Our goal is to bring stakeholders together to build a sustainable relationship between them. Through an interactive process stakeholders discuss their issues and interests, and create together a shared ambition.

Successful and sustainable collaboration

For solving persistent water problems, alignment of actors involved is essential. Topics requiring collaboration do not emerge ‘out of the blue’; but are a result of their environment. Collaboration is most likely to succeed when people and organisations connect with one another in a sense making process that does justice to the relevant interests and is targeted at a shared ambition. The major challenge is to enable the right conditions. We believe that there is no generic approach to create the right conditions for collaboration.

Nonetheless, successful collaboration goes through successive stages, iteratively or otherwise, and it does have a number of generic characteristics. It is therefore helpful to form a well-rounded picture of a how a collaboration process can be organized. Our approach ‘lens on collaboration’ emphasizes the importance of a shared ambition, doing justice to interests, good interpersonal collaboration, organizing professionally and awareness making process. A shared perspective while looking at collaboration can help partners work effectively together.

Our products

Institutional products

Institutional and social assessment, Institutional reform, Institutional strategy, Decision-Marking tool

Policy products

Policy analysis, Policy strategy, Policy implementation, Change management, Asset management

Project control products

Training and Capacity building, Investment plan, Feasibility study, Prize competition, Project planning, Risk analysis, Risk management, IT and databases

Stakeholder products

Stakeholder analysis, Stakeholder management

Water Governance and Climate