Guidance on setting up learning and action alliances for flood risk and water management

Alliances are formed by individuals and organisations which have common purpose. Membership of alliances is voluntary. Therefore, in order to sustain the membership of an alliance it will be necessary to ensure that the needs and expectations of each and every member are satisfied. In a time of limited financial resources and great demands on the time of those participating in an alliance it is essential that each member sees that the benefits arising from the membership of the alliance outweigh the time and cost of their engagement. This should be uppermost in the minds of those seeking to promote learning and action alliances. MARE is an INTERREG IVb North Sea Region project with the aim to develop and demonstrate local flood risk adaptation methodologies and related policy. This report provides guidance and summary information to assist the MARE partners in setting up and running the Learning and Action Alliances (LAA) in the project. The LAAs are meant to champion the required transition to resilience and managed adaptive approaches for FRM at 3 levels: a. European - through the set-up of a virtual knowledge centre for Flood Resilience, through providing input to relevant policy documents and through the creation of a nested international LAA for the mutual review and learning between the City LAAs; b. National level by using Demonstration Projects to identify and address bridges and barriers for a transition to resilience and managed adaptive approaches for FRM within the present planning, administrative and regulatory and policy framework; c. Local level by assisting City LAAs to gain deep knowledge of proposed strategies and to comprehensively adopt MARE tools via workshops and trans-national scientific missions between City LAAs. Notwithstanding the above, each of the MARE partners will establish LAAs within the context and perspective of the project but suited to their own local needs and circumstances. LAAs should not be uniformly prescribed, there is no ideal model of an LAA; rather they should be seen as organic, flexible, adaptable and evolutionary. This document therefore sets out a plan and a framework for the establishment and operation of LAAs that should be interpreted within the local context of the MARE partner activities. Core aspects of the LAA, recommended as fundamental to the establishment and operation, are highlighted and include steps to set up and run LAAs and undertake stakeholder analysis. A glossary of terms is also included. This report should be read in conjunction with the earlier report on Learning And Action Alliances In Relation To Urban Water And Flood Risk Management (final discussion document 29th May 2009).