The Dutch Flood Protection Programme: Taking Innovations to the Next Level

Abstract

The Dutch regional water authorities face an enormous task: the strengthening of about 1500 km of dikes and 500 civil-engineering structures before 2050. This immense operation is being funded, prioritised and supported by the Dutch Flood Protection Programme (DFPP), an alliance of regional water authorities and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The work will be executed in nearly 300 projects located throughout the country on the coast, lakes and major rivers. To complete this task on time and within budget, innovation (a better insight into the behaviour of flood defences, new techniques and processes) is believed to be the way forward. In this paper, we look at how the DFPP has encouraged innovations between 2012 and the present. We stress the importance of using a sender–receiver approach to further knowledge transfer and uptake, and we describe how, by using an action research approach, the Dutch Flood Protection Programme is currently adapting its innovation strategy on the basis of lessons learned to improve knowledge uptake. We will address some of the innovations that have been developed over the years and how monitoring knowledge uptake helps to further improve the learning-by-doing approach.

Keywords

• flood risk management
• innovations
• dikes
• flood decision-making
• knowledge uptake