Stakeholder engagement does not guarantee impact: A co-productionist perspective on model-based drought research

Area of Science:

• Environmental science
• Water resource management
• Computational modeling

Background:

• Stakeholder engagement is increasingly vital for environmental scientists to demonstrate societal relevance to funders.
• In water research, engaging stakeholders is seen as key to increasing the adoption of computer simulation modeling tools for water management.

Observation:

• The study questions the assumption that increased stakeholder involvement directly leads to greater adoption of scientific modeling tools.
• An analysis of drought research in the UK revealed that the societal context and relationships within drought governance significantly influence tool uptake.

Findings:

• Stakeholder engagement with a drought research project resulted in the adoption of data but not the scientific modeling tools.
• The freedom of stakeholder organizations to adopt new tools is constrained by their existing societal and institutional contexts.

Implications:

• Understanding the limitations imposed by the societal context is crucial for effective stakeholder engagement in environmental research.
• This research highlights the need to consider governance structures and actor relationships when aiming to increase the uptake of scientific research outputs, particularly modeling tools.