Narrative perspectives on the development of coastal pilot projects

Abstract

Pilot projects are favoured instruments for exploring and perhaps realising
policy change. The challenges that coastal policy faces, the frequency with
which pilot projects are implemented, and the criticisms regarding their
efficacy make it interesting and relevant to study pilot projects in this policy
field. This dissertation on ‘Narrative perspectives on the development of
coastal pilot projects’ aims to deepen understanding of the development
of pilot projects in their actor-networks. It utilises the concept of narratives
both in the conceptualisation of the development of pilot projects and in the
design of a research strategy, choosing to learn from the experiences of actors
involved in coastal pilot projects.
The Sand Engine in the Netherlands and Ystad’s sand nourishment
project in Scania, Sweden, are the two coastal pilot projects from which
empirical data are drawn. Retrospective biographies of the Sand Engine
pilot project, and the narrative competitions active in both the Sand Engine
and Ystad cases were identified using deductive and inductive narrative
analysis methods. This thesis highlights that pilot projects function not only as
learning instruments for understanding the (bio)physical system, but also as
instruments where actor-based learning is storified and success can be claimed
and institutionally anchored.