Some Methodological Concepts to Analyse the Role of IC-tools in Social Learning Processes

The Water Framework Directive requires to include public besides the water experts and policymakers into development and implementation of River Basin Management (RBM) plans (see Article 14). In sucha context, the EU research project HarmoniCOP, studies a method to improve Public Participation based onSocial Learning (SL) concepts. SL refers to the growing capacity of a social network to develop and performcollective actions. The different stakeholder groups in a basin are supposed to realize that a complex issue suchas RBM can be better resolved in a collective way, taking account the diversity of interests, of mental frames, ofknowledge and relying on disseminated information and knowledge. Information and Communication tools (ICtools)can play an important role to support the Social Learning dimension of the Public Participation. This paperpresents a HarmoniCOP project synthesis of the definition of different concepts and proposes a framework ofanalysis. A first part consists in a preliminary qualitative characterization of the role of the IC-tools stemmingfrom a bibliography analysis. Twenty IC-tools are already inventoried and four criteria are proposed:communication direction, public size, usage purpose (management of information and knowledge, elicitation ofperspectives, interaction support and simulation), phases in the PP process. A second part presents a frameworkof analysis based on a joint approach of psychologists and engineering sciences experts. This framework will betested in a number of empirical investigations to assess the tools used in historical and real-time case studiesfrom three perspectives: their technical characteristics, their impact on PP and SL and their usability as perceivedby the users. Finally, we present some perspectives concerning expected outcomes of the HarmoniCOP project.