Co-producing knowledge: joint knowledge production between experts, bureaucrats and stakeholders in Dutch water management projects

This article analyzes the process of knowledge co-production between experts, bureaucrats and stakeholders in two Dutch water management projects. The methods used for coproduction are analyzed, along with the impact of the resulting knowledge on the decision-making process. Based on the cases, it is concluded that knowledge co-production between experts and bureaucrats is not very problematic, because of discipline congruence and institutionalized relations between the two in Dutch water management. Knowledge co-production between stakeholders on the one hand and experts and bureaucrats on the other is more problematic and leads to problems of legitimacy in knowledge production and decision-making.