Water planning: From what Time Perspective?

“Integrative planning forwater technology and infrastructure depends on various social, behavioral
and environmental factors. Since water is a common-pool resource, water planning commonly
involves addressing the views of diverse groups of people on multiple levels. Inter-group
differences, especially if they go unrecognized, can be problematic for planning processes.
Research into the Time Perspectives of people fulfilling different roles in the water sector
worldwide revealed fascinating differences in how people perceive the Foreseeable Future. The
aimwas to characterize the heterogeneity so that it might be explicitly accounted for in planning.
One-on-one interviews were held with 309 managers, practical workers, and scientists in the
Netherlands, Ghana, Brazil, and Japan. Each interviewee’s Time Perspective was characterized
using a multi-measure method. The most noteworthy conclusions concern differences in the
temporal extent of the goals and events that motivate people. Scientists are motivated by objects
that lie furthest into the future followed by managers and then practicalworkers (Groupmedians:
8.4, 3.5, 1.7 yrs). Across national cultures, the time horizons of the Japanese and Brazilian
interviewees are longest. These conclusions are important because the time horizons considered
in planning influence what problems are perceived, what questions are asked, andwhat solutions
are sought.”
© 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
(Citaat: Segrave, A.J., van der Zouwen, M.W., van Vierssen, W. Water planning: From what Time Perspective? – Technological Forecasting and Social Change 86(2014), p.157-167)