HOLDING THE RING IN
REGIONAL WATER
MANAGEMENT
John Friend
IOR (emeritus), South Yorkshire, UK
ISSS 55, University of Hull
July 2011
SIG on Systemic Approaches to Conflict
and Crises chaired by Dennis Finlayson
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HOLDING THE RING IN REGIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT
John Friend
Introduction – theory & practice
Two regional contexts – Venezuela 2000
New Zealand 2009
Facilitating the Venezuelan workshop
Facilitating the New Zealand workshop
Contrasts between the experiences
Reflections on learning points
Relevance to interests of this SIG/ISSS discussion
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HOLDING THE RING IN REGIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT
Introduction – theory
A decision-centred approach to planning pioneered
in IOR within the Tavistock Institute
– especially useful for working across boundaries.
• known as the “Strategic Choice Approach”
Introduction – practice
Many varied applications over 4 decades:
• usually, group workshops using paper on walls
• can be complemented by informal small group
sessions using electronic recording aids
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THE VENEZUELAN STORY – A TIME LINE
Aug 1997
Dec 1998
Oct 1999
Dec 1999
Jan 2000
Mar 2000
Apr 2000
Apr 2001
Apr 2002
Mar 2005
May 2005
Dec 2006
2007-2011
Profs. Jorge Giordani & Elisenda Vila at Lincoln launch
Hugo Chávez elected President of Venezuela
Giordani appointed Minister of Planning and Development
Rosenhead & Friend invited to advise on regional choices
Catastrophic landslides following exceptional rains
Rosenhead’s first visit – focusing on choices for Vargas state
Friend’s first visit including strategic choice workshop
Joint visit of JF with JR; further workshop on Vargas futures
Further joint visit including workshop with a new focus
Chávez returns to office after a 48 hour coup
JR/JF visit after Giordani reappointed – translations launched
Ana Maria, Elisenda report on community & policy workshops
in UK at first meeting of OR Society Problem Structuring
Group
JR & JF invited to opening of National Planning School
Further Rosenhead visits – focus shifts to electricity supply
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TIMELINE OF MY FIRST CARACAS VISIT, 19-26 MARCH 2000
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
late evening arrival in Caracas
briefing by Minister Giordani
witness to negotiation with another Minister on
financial compensation for residents to be
announced by President on TV that evening
Escorted tour of stricken coastal communities – on
same day as Presidential visit
Workshop invitations sent out by Vice Minister
First workshop session in early evening
Morning summons to meet chief project engineer
Second workshop session in early evening
Debriefing sessions
Escorted visit to historic city centre before flight
back to UK
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22 MARCH WORKSHOP – DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Topic: reconstruction choices for Vargas State – in a crisis
situation not predicted at time of my invitation
Time frame: 1700 to 2000 hours
Location: MPD offices
Project sponsor:
Vice-Minister Gustavo Buenaño for MPD
Project agents:
(facilitation team)
John Friend – lead facilitator
Jose Madrid – MPD strategy unit
John Foley – UCV
Ana Maria Benaiges – UCV - recorder
Translator: uncertainty about role?
Project hosts:
emergency teams, project engineers,
planning consultants, civil defence
ministries of planning, environment,
military, cartography & other experts
(20 invited
Participants)
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22 MARCH WORKSHOP – FINDING A FOCUS
8 decision areas from January workshop + 2 added after my local visit
+ 7 more added in workshop. Intense debate over reformulations.
Stickers issued to participants – 5 each – for judging priorities
Topic of heated debate: are choices still open in upper valleys?
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22 MARCH WORKSHOP –ALTERNATIVES EXPLORED IN GROUPS
Five important areas of choice were agreed for exploration of
options in groups. In each group, balance sheet of advantages of
A vs B used to elicit key areas of uncertainty to be probed further.
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23 MARCH – MORNING VISIT TO CHIEF ENGINEER’S OFFICE
Purpose: to persuade facilitators – JM and JF – that all options for
change to scheduled river projects were already closed.
23 MARCH – RESUMPTION OF WORKSHOP
Slightly reduced group of participants, with some additions – but chief
project engineer absent
Proposed process for
this session:
Adjustments to foci
and groups to finalise
(draft) proposals for
action & exploration
then merge into a
specimen progress
package
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REFLECTIONS ON 22/23 MARCH WORKSHOP
• brief glimpse of challenges & conflicts at a particular moment in
a complex, evolving and politically charged drama precipitated by
catastrophic flooding of communities living in steep parallel
valleys
• composition of group: bias towards expert advisers rather than
policy makers – later corrected through follow-on workshop with
senior managers in April, but level of engagement now less
intensive
• effects of working across languages - both positive and negative.
Value of some Spanish terms e.g. paquete de compromisos
• value of a running record compiled on a laptop by Ana Maria of
the facilitation team, complementing the group’s photo-record
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THE NEW ZEALAND STORY – A TIME LINE
1990’s
2002-8
2009 Jan
2009 Feb
2009 Sep
Droughts exacerbate mounting conflicts among users
of river water in Canterbury region of South Island
Environment Canterbury commissions Canterbury
Regional Water Strategy (CRWS) phases 1, 2, 3; a large
volume of data generated. Also a large volume of
opinion through use of “Open strategy” approach.
CEO of ECan discusses with Gerald Midgley at ESR
ways of reducing complexity for a key meeting of his
Steering Group planned for 22-23 February. CEO
expresses interest in use of Strategic Choice Approach.
JKF visit to work with ECan team in planning and cofacilitating a 2-day strategy workshop
Target for publishing draft strategy after wide public
consultation on strategic alternatives endorsed by
steering group at our workshop
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REFLECTIONS ON 23/24 FEBRUARY WORKSHOP
• a brief yet pivotal event in a long-running programme in which
an unwieldy amount of information had been generated through
both technical investigations and political consultations
• the steering group members represented sharply opposing
interests - yet had already spent much time listening to and
recognising the interests of the others
• prior formulation of policy areas and tentative strategic
directions by the CWMS management team had anticipated the
workshop approach, and thus provided a valuable initial focus
• language difficulties were minimal – limited to occasional
misunderstandings through differences in vowel pronunciation
• sensitivity to the need to accept Maori framework of Tangata
Whenua as a parallel holistic frame of evaluation, rather than
view it as reflecting the interests of one indigenous stakeholder
group
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INTERPRETING INTO A PROGRAMME FOR CONSULTATION
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THE FOUR SELECTED STRATEGIC OPTIONS
A. “Continue to improve the current approach”
B. “Advance environmental protection before
developing significant infrastructure”
C. “Reconfigure consents and infrastructure for
protection and repair of the environment,
improved reliability of supply and for
development”
D. “Advance infrastructure with strong
requirements for environmental repair and
protection”
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A RETROSPECTIVE JUDGEMENT
“The shift we made from Open strategy to
Strategic choice was pivotal in the success of the
development of the CWMS. This was initially
based on the recommendations from your book
and then our discussions and finally on the
engagement with John. I think that NZ is about to
rediscover strategy development and there are
very few people in the country who think in those
terms.”
CEO Environment Canterbury in an email to
Gerald Midgley on his leaving NZ
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WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS?
Immediate: selected pages emailed to NZ from an IOR report of
1976 on working upwards and downwards between levels
in UK structure plans
2009 Sep: draft strategy published after wide consultations
2010 Apr: Elected members of ECan replaced by
six commissioners after period of political turmoil
2010 Sep: Severe earthquake strikes not far from Christchurch
2011 Feb: Further severe earthquake causes much loss of life and
destruction of buildings in Christchurch city centre
2011 Jun: Series of aftershocks cause further destruction
2012: Despite these political and environmental shocks, workshop
recognised as having generated an acceptable framework
for future policy development
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Some lessons after comparing experiences
• Workshops can help in guiding policy development
across boundaries as well as within organisations
• Process-engaged and process-detached workshops
offer different opportunities for facilitation and learning
• Effects of brief process interventions in politically
turbulent contexts are difficult (impossible?) to evaluate
• Expect unpredictable disturbances – political,
meteorological, seismic – both before and after an
intervention
• Nevertheless, diverse experiences are worth mining for
lessons of potential future value
• Language difficulties/challenges can offer a rich source
of learning
• Any initial learning points can be enriched by exposing
them to further reflection and argument.
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Some discussion points
• Capturing lessons from diverse experiences –
challenges and benefits?
• How to build helpful frameworks for review?
• What kind of problem focus – ser or estar?
• Linkages between system structure and
problem structure?
• Creating academic contexts for action research
and skill development – the IOR legacy and
others?
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