Promises and Pitfalls in the Making of Collaboration: A strategic communication analysis of how organisations negotiate collaborative dynamics

In my study I want to understand how organisations, through communication, create conditions for collaboration when there are multiple, and sometimes competing, uses of a (natural) resource.

I delve into the organisation of groundwater that requires collaboration between several actors as it is used for drinking water, for agricultural irrigation, and in the industrial production process. Many regions around the globe rely entirely on groundwater for their water supply. Thus, it is a vital natural resource that requires sustainable management to adequately deal with climate change challenges.

It also makes the organising of groundwater resources an interesting case for communication. The high demand and multiple uses, that can be competing, indicates that there is a constant need for balancing and navigating opposing perspectives or interests, understanding decision-making processes, while simultaneously providing opportunities for collaboration to take place.

I use ethnographic methods, in particular, observations and semi-structured interviews to understand communication practices, as well as the expectations and values surrounding the collaboration.