Water Assessment as controlled informality

The expectations about the effectiveness of new developed policy instruments are usually very high. In the case of the introduction of Water Assessment in The Netherlands, the ambitious aim of the instrument was to connect the policy domains of spatial planning and water management. The instrument has been monitored continuously and was evaluated two times after the introduction in 2002, by civil servants of ministries, water boards, provinces and municipalities. By combining elements of rational and communicative planning approaches and introducing a three-layered model of power, it was possible to analyse WA as a form of controlled informality, which enables water managers to use the interplay of informal and formal practices strategically at different levels of power.