prof.dr. D (Dave) Huitema

Dave Huitema is professor and chair group holder Public Administration and Policy at Wageningen University and Research. His research is focused on the role of government in accomplishing transformations in the sustainability domain. How can government play a role in facilitating certain ongoing transformations, how could government trigger certain transformations, and how does government need to transform itself in light of desirable transformations? In light of this, Huitema has focused in the past on the ways in which individuals (so called policy entrepreneurs) can consciously affect policy dynamics, learning processes in government (for instance through citizen participation, through evaluation, through serious games, or policy experiments), but he has also focused on the way governments can enhance the societal impact of citizens collectives that seek to introduce more sustainable approaches. Much of the work done by Huitema is aimed at the domains of water management, climate change and energy. Conceptually he connects to theories about policy dynamics, the science-policy interface, adaptive governance and polycentricity. Huitema received his degree from Twente (M.A.and PhD) and previously worked for the Vrije Univeriteit Amsterdam and the Open Universiteit as professor of environmental policy. At the moment Hutema is involved in various ongoing research projects, notably NWO funded project ADAPT-LOCKIN about locked in policy system, NWO-TTW project AquaConnect about circular water management, and the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action NEWAVE that aims to give an impetus to the global way of thinking about water governance. Huitema teaches in various courses at the WUR and is welcoming students who would like to do research together in his expertise areas.