The research proposed to build on the literature on the management of common-pool resources, which, in water policy, has focused mostly on surface water irrigation systems. It also proposed to go beyond identifying conducive institutional features for collective action, and move to support implementation in operational terms. The first pillar of the research focused on evaluating the application, by agricultural user associations, of water allocation quotas in agriculture. The outcome of the research advances our understanding of institutions for the management of groundwater common pool resources, especially when the management objective is not solely to prevent resource exhaustion but environmental protection. The second pillar of the research has focused to develop a methodology to initiate collective action and thereby support the design and implementation of common pool resource institutions at local level. It has shown that participatory foresight methodologies can be valuable approaches to help local actors develop a more common representation of groundwater resources and understand the benefits of collective action – two essential elements for initiating common-pool resources action.
The project contributed to the innovation targets of the European Union in two ways. First, it contributed to technological innovation by developing a participation methodology that contributes to initiate collective action to tackle overexploitation of groundwater resources. Its novelty is to use foresight method to envision alternative futures and identify most shared, desirable elements. The method was designed to be “light-weight” and user-focused, unlike most other foresight methodologies developed by the scientific community. Hence, it can be easily replicated in other contexts, including in non-research environments. Second, the project contributed to social innovation by implementing action-research with local actors around groundwater sustainability. The two case studies engaged a total of 72 actors in the participatory foresight workshops, including farmers, local authorities, regulators, industry and NGOs. The workshops contributed to build a common representation of the groundwater dependent social-ecological system amongst participants.
