Navigating currents of change: the struggles of a water organization with integrated problem-solving in a time of climate change and societal transitions

This thesis examines how a Dutch water authority struggles with and responds to the growing pressure for sustainability transitions. Despite increasing challenges related to climate change, environmental degradation, and water management, the sector often relies on familiar solutions and incremental improvements. Through four years of embedded action research at Waterschap Limburg, this dissertation explores why integrated problem-solving — approaches that combine social, environmental, and spatial considerations — remains difficult to implement. The research shows how existing institutional structures and professional logics can slow down or resist transformative change, even when there is motivation to innovate. By analyzing moments of resistance, learning processes, and organizational change projects, this study provides insight into how public organizations can better support integrated and sustainable solutions in times of societal transformation.