Natural Resources Governance

Natural Resources Governance

The Role of Open Governance in Linking New Water Governance Aapproaches

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran.
Abstract
In recent years, the water crisis has emerged as one of the fundamental challenges in the governance of natural resources and sustainable development, attracting widespread attention from scholars, policymakers, and international institutions.​ At the same time, new approaches to water governance have been proposed through various theories and recommendations by international communities, each emphasizing aspects such as participation, efficiency, and sustainability to enhance water governance. The present study aims to explore the role of open governance in the era of information and communication technology in fostering the integration and synergy of these approaches. The research method was a systematic review. Following a pilot search in Google Scholar and the determination of the research path, an initial search yielded 33 articles out of 759 retrieved from the Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases. Subsequently, a forward search in the Emerald and Springer databases identified 15 additional articles, and a backward search identified 6 more, resulting in a total of 54 articles selected for final analysis. The findings indicate that adopting open governance in the era of information and communication technology within the water sector not only possesses the necessary capacity to respond to a substantial portion of the solutions and concepts derived from the outcome of new approaches to water governance and serves as an integrating mechanism that provides the ground for convergence and linkage among these approaches, but also, by relying on the broad nature of concepts such as transparency, accountability, open participation, and open collaboration, will create new horizons for the realization of these solutions.
Keywords

Abu-Shanab, E. (2015). Reengineering the open government concept: An empirical support for a proposed madel. Journal of Government Information Quarterly, 32(4), 453-463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2015.07.002
Alexopoulos, C., Saxena, S., Rizun, N., Matheus, R., & Janssen, M. (2024). Are creative users more apt in reusing and adopting Open Government Data (OGD)? Gender differences. Journal of  Thinking Skills and Creativity, 52 (6): 101478. Doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2024.101478
Altayar, M.S. (2018). Motivations for open data adoption: An institutional theory perspective. Journal of Government Information Quarterly, 35(4),  633-643. Doi: 10.1016/j.giq.2018.09.006
Alzamil, Z. S., & Vasarhelyi, M. A. (2019). A new model for efficient open government data. International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, 16, 174-187. DOI: 10.1057/s41310-019-00066-w
Barchi, M., & Greco, M. (2018). Negotiation in Open Innovation: A Literature Review. Journal of  Group Decis Negot 27, 343–374 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10726-018-9568-8
Benmohamed, N., Shen, J., & Vlahu-Gjorgievska, E. (2024). Public value creation through the use of open government data in Australian public sector: A quantitative study from employees perpective. Journal of  Government Information Quarterly, 41(2), 101930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.Giq.2024.101930
Benson, D., Gain, A,K., & Rouillard, J,J. (2015). Water governance in a comparative perspective: From IWRM to a ‘nexus’ approach?. Journal of Water Alternatives 8 (1), 756-773. Doi: 991005560450107891
Bitterman, P., Koliba, C., & Singer, A. (2023). A network perspective on multi-scale water governance in the Lake Champlain Basin, Vermont. Journal of Ecology and Society, 28(1), 44. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-14036-280144
Blasio, E., & Selva, D. (2016). Why Choose Open Government? Motivations for the Adoption of Open Government Policies in Four European Countries. Journal of Policy and internet 8(3), 225-247. https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.118
Charalabidis, Y., Triantafillou, A., Karkaletsis, V., &  Loukis, E. (2012). Public Policy Formulation Through Non Moderated Crowdsourcing in Social Media. 4 th International Conference on Electtronic Participation. Conference Proceedings of International Conference on Electronic Participation, 156-169. Doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-33250-0_14
Chatwin, M., & Arku, G. (2017). Beyond Ambiguity: Conceptualizing Open Government through a Human Systems Framework. Journal of JeDEM 9 (1), 52-78. https://doi.org/10.29379/jedem.v9i1.468
Chaffin, B.C., Garmestani, A.S., Gosnell, H., & Craig, R.K. (2016). Institutional networks and adaptive water governance in the Klamath River Basin, USA. Journal of Environmental Science & Policy, 57, 112-121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.11.008
Cingolani, L. (2021). The survival of open government platforms: Empirical insights from a global sample. Journal of Government Information Quarterly, 38(1), 101522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2020.101522
Cuaton, G. P., Su, Y., Katic, P., & Yarime, M. (2024). Unpacking water governance dynamics and its implications for household water security in post-disaster resettlement communities in the Philippines. Journal of Geoforum, 154, 104053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2024.104053
De la Guardia, F. H., Grant, S., Miguel, E. (2018). A framework for open policy analysis, Journal of Science and Public Policy, 48(2), 154–163. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scaa067
Diep, L. (2018). The liquid politics of an urban age. Journal of Palgrave Communication 4(1), 10.1057/s41599-018-0133-5. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-018-0133-5
Di Quarto, F., & Zinzani, A. (2022). European environmental governance and the post-ecology perspective: a critical analysis of the Water Framework Directive. Journal of GeoJournal, 87, 2849–2861. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-021-10402-9
Long, R.D., Charles, A. L., & Stephenson, R. (2015). Key principles of marine ecosystem-based management. Journal of  Marine Policy,  57, 53-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2015.01.013
Edelenbos, J., & Meerkerk, I. (2015). Connective capacity in water governance practices: The meaning of trust and boundary spanning for integrated performance. Journal of Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 12, 25-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2014.08.009
Fang, J., Zhao, L., & Li, S. (2024). Exploring open government data ecosystems across data, information, and business. Journal of Government Information Quarterly, 41(2), 101934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2024.101934
Fernandes, S., Cesário, M., & Barata, J.M. (2017). Ways to open innovation: Main agents and sources in the Portuguese case. Journal of Technology in Society, 51, 153-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2017.09.002
Greenhill, L., Stojanovic, T., & Tett, P. (2020). Does marine planning enable progress towards adaptive governance in marine systems? Lessons from Scotland’s regional marine planning process. Journal of  Maritime Studies, 19, 299–315. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-020-00171-5
Hesse, A., Bresnihan, P., & White, J. (2023). The data treadmill: water governance and the politics of pollution in rural Ireland. Journal of  Local Environment, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2023.2169668
Hilgers, D. (2012). Open Government: Theoretische Bezuge und konzeptionelle Grundlagen einer neuen Entwicklung in Staat und offentlichen Verwaltungen. Journal of Z Betriebswirtsch, 82(6), 631-660. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-012-0571-2
Hirth, Lion. (2020).Open data for electricity modeling: Legal aspects, Journal of Energy Strategy Reviews, 27, 100433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2019.100433
Hossain, N., Talukder, S., Hoque, R., & Bao, Y. (2018). The use of open government data to citizen empowerment: an empirical validation of a proposed model. Journal of Foresight, 20(2), 665-680. https://doi.org/10.1108/FS-03-2018-0027
Iacovino, N. M., Barsanti, S., & Cinquini, L. (2015). Public Organizations Between Old Public Administration, New Public Management and Public Governance: the Case of the Tuscany Region. Journal of Public Organiz rev, 17, 61-82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-015-0327-x
Van Damme, J., Caluwaerts, D., & Brans, M. (2016): Coproduction in Health Planning: Challenging the Need for  “Open”  Policy-Making Processes. International Journal of Public Administration, 39(13), 1056-1066. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2016.1186180
Kankanhalli, A., Zuiderwijk, A., & Tayi, G. (2017). Open innovation in the public sector: A research agenda. Journal of Government Information Quarterly, 34(1), 84-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2016.12.002
Karakiza, Maria. (2015). The impact of Social Media in the Public Sector. Journal of Procedia­ – Social and Behaviral Sciences, 175, 384-392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.1214
Leong, C., & Lejano, R. (2016). Thick narratives and the persistence of institutions: using the Q methodology to analyse IWRM reforms around the Yellow River. Journal of Policy Sci, 49, 445–465. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-016-9253-1
Lock, Irina. (2019). Explicating communicative organization-stakeholder relationships in the digital age: A systematic review and research agenda. Journal of Public  Relations  Review, 45(4), 101829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2019.101829.
Lyu,Y., Zhu, Y., Han, S., He, B., & Bao, L. (2020). Open  innovation  and  innovation Radicalness—the  moderating effect of network embeddedness. Journal of Technology in Society, 62, 101292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc
Maya Jariego, I. (2024). Using stakeholder network analysis to enhance the impact of participation in water governance. Journal of  Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 460. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02958-x
Maretti, M., Russo, V., & Gobbo, E. (2020). Open data governance: civic hacking movement, topics and opinions in digital space. Journal of Quality & Quantity, 55. 1133-1154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-020-01045-y
Mato-Santiso, V., Rey-García, M., & Sanzo-P´erez, M. (2021). Managing  multi-stakeholder  relationships  in  nonprofit  organizations through  multiple  channels:  A  systematic  review  and  research  agenda  for enhancing  stakeholder  relationship  marketing,  Journal of  Public  Relations  Review, 47(4), 102074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2021.102074.
Meijer, A.J., Lips, M., & Chen, K. (2019). Open Governance: A New Paradigm for Understanding Urban Governance in an Information Age. Journal of Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 1(3). https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2019.00003
Meijer, A., & Potjer, S. (2018). Citizen-generated open data: An explorative analysis of 25 cases. Journal of  Government Information Quarterly, 35(4), 613-621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2018.10.004
Meijer, A.J; Curtin, D., & Hillebrandt, M. (2012). Open government: connecting vision and voice. Journal of International Review of Administrative Sciences, 78 (1), 10-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852311429533
Mergel, I. (2018). Open innovation in the public sector: drivers and barriers for the adoption of Challenge.gov. Journal of Public Management Review, 20(5), 726-745.
https:// doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2017.1320044
   Mergel, I. (2014). Opening Government: Designing Open Innovation Processes to Collaborate With External Problem Solvers, Journal of Social Science Computer Review, 33(5), 599-612. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439314560851
Mirumachi, N., & Hurlbert, M. (2022). Reflecting on twenty years of international agreements concerning water governance: insights and key learning. Journal of Int Environ Agreements 22, 317-332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-022-09564-9
Millard, J. (2015). Open governance systems: Doing more with more. Journal of Government Information Quarterly, 35(4), 577-587. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2015.08.003
Mirzaei, A., Knierim, A., Fealy Nahavand, S., & Mahmoudi, H. (2017). Gap analysis of water governance in Northern Iran: A closer look into the water reservoirs, Journal of Environmental Science & Policy, 77, 98-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2017.08.004
Moon, M.J. (2019). Shifting from Old Open Government to New Open Government: Four Critical Dimensions and Case Illustrations, Journal of Public Performance & Management Review, 43(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2019.1691024
Mora, M., Johnston, A., Watson, M., & Bharadwaj, L. (2022). Honouring Water: The Mistawasis Nêhiyawak Water Governance Framework. Journal of The International Indigenous Policy Journal,  13(3), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.18584/iipj.2022.13.3.14271
Mukhtarov, F., Dieperink, C., & Driessen, P. (2018). The influence of information and communication technologies on public participation in urban water governance: A review of place-based research, Journal of Environmental Science & Policy, 89, 430-438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2018.08.015
Nikvashvili, T. (2019). Open Governance as a Tool for Strengthening the System of e-Democracy in Georgia. Journal of JeDEM, 11 (2), 137-149. https://doi.org/10.29379/jedem.v11i2.547
Nkhata, B. A. (2024). The role of  accountability in the emergence of  adaptive water governance. Journal of  Ecology and Society 29 (2), 14. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-14940-290214
Nouri, M., Homaee, M., Pereira, L. S., & Bybordi, M. (2023). Water  management  dilemma  in  the  agricultural  sector  of  Iran:  A  review focusing  on  water  governance. Journal of  Agricultural  Water  Management, 288, 108480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108480
OECD. (2016). Open Government ,the global context and the way forward(Highlights). OECD Publishing. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2016/12/open-government_g1g74242/9789264268104-en.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiVkc7xseOQAxVHTEEAHeqqGuoQFnoECCEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1n-x4OOKp8EVbewcBXO_Do
Ochoa-García,H., & Rist, S. (2018). Water Justice and Integrated Water Resources Management: Constitutionality Processes Favoring Sustainable Water Governance in Mexico. Journal of  Hum Ecol, 46, 51–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-017-9958-6
Paliokaite, A., & Sadauskaite, A. (2023). Institutionalisation of participative and collaborative governance: Case studies of Lithuania 2030 and Finland 2030. Journal of  Futures, 150, 103174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2023.103174
Palumbo, R., Casprini, E., & Manesh, M. F. (2023). Unleashing open innovation in the public sector: a bibliometric and interpretive literature review. Journal of  Open innovation in the public sector, 61(13), 103-171. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-12-2022-1745
Park, E. G., & Oh, W. (2020). Factors and their relationships in measuring the progress of open government. Aslib Journal of Information Management, 72(1), 17-33. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-04-2019-0083
Park, S., & Gil-Garcia, J. R. (2022). Open data innovation: Visualizations and process redesign as a way to bridge the transparency-accountability gap. Journal of  Government Information Quarterly, 39(1), 101456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2020.101456
Pedregal, B., Cabello, V., Hernández Mora, N., Limones, N., & Del Moral, L. (2015). Information and knowledge for water governance in the networked society, Journal of  Water Alternatives. 30, 1-19.
Pedersen, K. (2020). What can open innovation be used for and how does it create value?. Journal of  Government Information Quarterly, 37(2), 101459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2020.101459
Pollard, S. R., Riddell, E., du Toit, D. R., Retief, D, C., & Ison, R. L. (2023). Toward adaptive water governance: the role of  systemic feedbacks for learning and adaptation in the eastern transboundary rivers of  South Africa. Journal of   Ecology and Society 28(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-13726-280147
Pyun, H-O., & Gamassou, C.E. (2017). Looking for Public Administration Theories. Journal of Public Organiz Review, 18(2), 245-261. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-017-0374-6
De Loe, R. C., & Patterson, J. J. (2017). Rethinking Water Governance: Moving Beyond Water-Centric Perspectives in a Connected and Changing World. Natural Resources Journal, 57(1), 75-99.  https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nrj/vol57/iss1/4
Saxena, Stuti. (2018). Asymmetric Open Government Data (OGD) framework in India. Journal of Digital policy, Regulation and Governance, 20(5), 434-448. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPRG-11-2017-0059
Scott, C., Shrestha, P., & Lutz-Ley, A. (2020). The re-adaptation challenge: limits and opportunities of existing infrastructure and institutions in adaptive water governance. Journal of Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 44,104-112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2020.09.012
Sieber, R.E., & Johnson, P.A. (2015). Civic open data at a crossroads: Dominant models and current challenges. Journal of Government Information Quarterly, 32(3), 308-315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2015.05.003
Sharma, Abhilasha., & Shekhar, Himanshu. (2022). A predictive analytics framework for Sustainable Water Governance, Journal of Sustainable Computing: Informatics and Systems, 32, 100604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.suscom.2021.100604
Shunglu, R., Kopke, S., Kanoi, L., S.Nissanka, T., R.Withanachchi, C., U.Gamage, D., R.Dissanayake, H., Kibaroglu, A., Unver, O., & S.Withanachchi, S. (2022). Barriers in Participative Water Governance: A Critical Analysis of Community Development Approaches. Journal of Water, 14(5), 762. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14050762
Taecharungroj, V., Tachapattaworakul Suksaroj, T., & Rattanapan, C. (2018). "The place sustainability scale: measuring residents’ perceptions of the sustainability of a town", Journal of Place Management and Development, 11(4), 370-390. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMD-04-2017-0037
Tai, K-T. (2021). Open government research over a decade: Asystematic review. Journal of  Government Information Quarterly, 38(2), 101566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2021.101566
Tantoh, H.B., Simatele, D.M., Ebhuoma, E., Donkor, K., & Mckay, T. J. M. (2021). Towards a pro-community-based water resource management system in Northwest Cameroon: practical evidence and lessons of best practices. Journal of  GeoJournal 86, 943–961. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-019-10085-3
Tuomisto, J.T., Pohjola, M.V., & Rintala, T.J. (2020). From insight network to open policy practice: practical experiences. Journal of Health Research Policy and Systems, 18(36), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-020-00547-3
Vaio, A. D., Trujillo, L., D'Amore, G., & Palladino, Rosa. (2021). Water governance models for meeting sustainable development Goals:A structured literature review, Journal of Utilities Policy, 72, 101255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2021.101255
Veljkovic, N., Bogdanovic-Dinic, S., & Stoimenov, L. (2014). Benchmarking open government: An open data perspective. Journal of Government Information Quarterly, 31(2), 278-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2013.10.011
Xiao, J., & Zhang, H. (2020). Quality assessment framework for open government data meta-synthesis of qualitative research, 2009-2019. The Electronic Library, 38(2), 209-222. Doi: 10.1108/EL-06-2019-0145
Yi, Myongho. (2019). Exploring the quality of government open data Comparison study of the UK, the USA and Korea. The Electronic Library, Vol 37, Issue 1: 35-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/EL-06-2018-0124
Yuan, Q., & Gasco-Hernandez, M. (2019): Open innovation in the public sector: creating public value through civic hackathons. Journal of Public Management Review, 23(4), 523-544. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2019.169588
Zwarteveen, M. (2015). Regulating Water, Ordering Society: Practices and Politics of Water Governance (Inaugural Lecture 529). University of Amsterdam. https://hdl.handle.net/11245/1.477464
Zhang, N., Zhao, X., Zhang, Z., Meng, Q., & Tan, H.(2016). What factors drive open innovation in Chinas public sector? A case study of official document exchange via microblogging (ODEM) in Haining. Journal of  Government Information Quarterly, 34(1), 126-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2016.11.002