The issue: handling problem-driven research effectively
A large part of coastal engineering research is inspired and financed by organisations like governments, port authorities, dredging companies and consultancy organisations, which have an interest in applicable results. In this context, a recurring issue is the effectiveness of the often considerable research and development investments. One of the key challenges in problem-driven research is a fundamentally different attitude of researchers and end users towards what is to be considered 'relevant' information. By nature, researchers are inclined to measure the quality of their research by its contribution to the scientific 'state-of-the-art'. Conversely, it is natural that end users are inclined to measure the quality of research by its improvement to day-to-day problem solving. Which view prevails depends on the weight of the initiative driving the research.
Basically two extremes may be distinguished in the spectrum of initiative. At one extreme there is 'free research', operating outside the constraints of a practical problem. Or at the other extreme, 'applied research', which usually primarily involves end users and focuses on quick, efficient and economical solutions to practical problems. Elsewhere in the continuum both practical and scientific interests drive the objectives of the research in some form. For this reason Van Koningsveld et al. (2003) characterised this type of intermediate approach between the two extremes as 'driven' research.
In many coastal research projects that are of the 'driven' type, the balance of initiative is tilted towards the 'free' end of the spectrum. During the course of such projects, the previously mentioned natural difference in attitude has a tendency to lead to research results that are scientifically interesting, but from a practical point of view considered hard or even impossible to use. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as the 'gap' between science and practice.
The CoastView, Conscience, Micore and Building with Nature projects are excellent examples of 'driven' research projects. Proper handling research in this context requires two basic skills:
- The (will and) ability to interact effectively in a process of joint problem definition (involving both scientist and end users).
- The (will and) ability to match ongoing research processes with this joint problem definition (effort mainly required from the scientist).
- The (will and) ability to adapt existing decision making processes to state-of-the-art knowledge (effort mainly required from the end-user).
The "frame of reference" approach brings together these basic skills required for effective problem-driven research.
The tool: the frame of reference approach
A key element in the philosophy on matching science with end user needs is to use the end user's information need as an explicit starting point for knowledge development and to continually match specialist research and the end users information need. Doing this in practice however is a potentially end less effort. As a guideline it is suggested to make at least some essential components of coastal decision making explicit, this will be the 'frame of reference'. Analysis of practical cases has indicated that a useful 'basic' frame of reference comprises explicit definitions of:
- a strategic objective;
- an operational objective; and
- a decision recipe containing a foursome of elements, viz.:
- a quantitative state concept;
- a benchmarking procedure;
- an intervention procedure; and
- an evaluation procedure confronting the operational as well as the strategic objective.
The communication process may be guided by assuming that 'ideally' all elements of the 'basic' frame of reference need to be made explicit. An assessment of the elements that have 'actually' been made explicit reveals so-called 'white spots'. These 'white spots' represent the remaining information that is needed to develop a successful and coherent approach. As such, discussions using the frame of reference approach involve continuous reframing and fine tuning.
The challenge: utilize the frame of reference within 'driven' research settings
null Previous applications in the CoastView and Conscience projects have show that the method actually works and produces interesting results. Applying the same approach to various problems promotes comparability of the results. For the CoastView project the final results were described and compared in an article in the Coastal Engineering Journal. To further facilitate the practical use of the Frame of Reference a useful template has been developed in the context of the Building with Nature project. Using this template enables convenient summarizing and reuse of the information produced.
References
- van Koningsveld, M. (2003). Matching specialist knowledge with end user needs. Bridging the gap between coastal science and coastal management. PhD thesis, University of Twente.
- van Koningsveld, M.; M.J.F. Stive; J.P.M. Mulder; H.J. de Vriend, D.W. Dunsbergen and B.G. Ruessink (2003). "Usefulness and Effectiveness of Coastal Research. A Matter of perception?" Journal of Coastal Research 19(2): pp. 441 - 461.
- van Koningsveld, M. and Mulder, J. P. M. (2004). Sustainable Coastal Policy Developments in the Netherlands. A Systematic Approach Revealed. Journal of Coastal Research, 20(2): pp. 375 - 385.
- van Koningsveld, M., Davidson, M., Huntley, D., Medina, R., Aarninkhof, S., Jimenez, J., Ridgewell, J. De Kruif, A., 2007. "A critical review of the CoastView project: Recent and future developments in coastal management video systems". Journal of Coastal Engineering 54: pp. 567 - 576
The main author of this article is Mark van Koningsveld .Please note that others may also have edited the contents of this article: |
||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|