WHICH KNOWLEDGE FOR POLICY-MAKING? THE ROLE OF RESEARCH IN THE BRUSSELS WATER POLICY

Regional Innovation Systems are known for their capacity to create a virtuous cycle of cooperation across knowledge centres, policymakers and economic actors. The so-called ‘Triple Helix’ aims to promote technological innovation and market-oriented competitiveness. Is research able to support also policymaking? In a local environment where knowledge is available, also policymakers are expected to benefit, mainly when highly technical policy issues are discussed.
The aim of this paper is to show under which conditions research can support policymakers (research for policy) enhancing policy changes, dealing with conflicting interests and contributing to agenda setting and problem-definition. Furthermore, the paper takes a local perspective where knowledge is an even more scarce resource, but face-to-face contacts may facilitate knowledge exchanges between researchers and policy-makers.
The selected case study is the water policy in the Brussels-Capital Region (BCR). The field of water policy is both highly political and technical. While water is a politicised topic due to the extremely high importance of this fundamental resource, this field requires advanced techniques and expertise. Specifically, within the water field the paper focuses on urban policies for flooding such as management of rainwater and storm water basins, soils’ sealing, river and lake management, water quality and treatment in a highly urbanised area such as Brussels. Furthermore, in the (complex) Belgian framework, the governance is articulated across the regional government in charge of water competences, the nineteen municipalities that own the main water company (Vivaqua), and the EU ‘water framework directive’ and other EU Directives , which provide the main legal framework.
In this context, the paper focuses on the role played by Brussels’ researchers to support policymakers, directly through cooperation or indirectly through an engagement in the civil society. Furthermore, the influence of research for policymaking depends also on disciplines on both sides (research and policymaking). The objective is to show the different channels through which knowledge flows towards the policymaking process, identifying under which conditions research can have a positive contribution. The paper is based on the reconstruction of the Brussels’ water policy since the creation of the Brussels-Capital Region in 1989.
Findings show the different ‘absorptive capacity’ of policymakers depending on different disciplines available on water in Brussels highlighting what are the enabling and preventing factors for this knowledge transfer. Specifically, science and technology research is able to influence policymakers because these are the same skills available within policymakers (research for policies); whereas social sciences and humanities were able to mobilize a significant political consensus without a real impact on policies (research on policies).