Edited by: Zheng Liu, University of British Columbia, Canada
Reviewed by: Bankole Awuzie, Central University of Technology, South Africa; Neil Grigg, Colorado State University, United States
This article was submitted to Innovation and Governance, a section of the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Cities
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This article draws on experience within a pervasive sensing research project, the Pipebots project. The aim of the project is to design miniature robots to gather physical condition and environmental data on buried pipe networks, using potable water distribution and wastewater pipe systems as the initial target applications. One of the challenges of the project is to anticipate and address the potential governance issues triggered by the project. Due to the lack of a suitable tool with sufficient breadth to guide thinking, the existing literature has been drawn upon to form the basis of a governance framework for use in infrastructure projects. Whilst the original intention was to be alert to and interrogate the forms of governance that may impact on new infrastructure interventions, what is emerging is a tool that would support the strategy for implementation, improve the design (a no-regrets design policy) and help build the business case for the transformational change the project envisages.
The Pipebots project is a cross-university, multi-disciplinary research programme consisting of around 48 researchers seeking to create new science on pervasive sensing in buried pipe networks. The Pipebots vision is to create a swarm of autonomous, miniaturised robots to gather and transmit data, initially focussing on water and wastewater infrastructure systems (Pipebots,
The programme seeks to make a transformational change in how buried pipe networks are managed, i.e., designed, operated, maintained, refurbished and upgraded as the need arises. The scientific and engineering feat needed to deliver the robots will be considerable and the project draws on the talents of an array of technical experts in their field. With challenges of navigation, sensing, communication, miniaturisation and movement in varied and hostile environments there a temptation to focus acutely on the exciting, technical engineering challenges. However, the water and wastewater service sector operates within a complex and extensive governance system (Osbeck et al.,
A team within the Pipebots project (Theme 7)
No existing tool for systematically drawing in, communicating and integrating governance impacts for use in the project was identified in the literature review. In the absence of a tool or framework to guide such projects, a Governance Framework is being created. The new framework is not a set of prescriptive rules but asks questions for project teams to consider and reflect upon, to be alert to the topics where opportunities or issues may arise, flag areas where additional expertise may be needed, be open about trade-offs and prompt further enquiry. The intention is to help the project team members navigate governance issues, which may not be within their technical area of expertise and yet which may still impact on the design and acceptability of their work—and vice versa for Theme 7 to understand how the governance regime could adapt to the new science.
Another way of looking at the challenge is that it seeks to move the sector from one business model to another, and the framework has a place in supporting that move. For Pipebots, the business case for change mediates the move from the current business model (with current detection models to find the points of failure and trench excavations to facilitate repair) to a new model [with pervasive sensing that identifies defects prior to failure, which enables maintenance free from trench excavations (see Rogers,
Whilst a directly applicable (pre-existing) tool was not identified, there was a wealth of literature around governance that was used to support the new Governance Framework's design. It was established that governance has been tackled from a number of different viewpoints and disciplines, often behind the framing of the problem in focus and the primacy ascribed to technology, society or environment in a given context. The opportunity was taken to consider the literature from multiple disciplinary perspectives, in keeping with the project's transdisciplinary principles.
The sections below present the literature review. This is followed by a discussion on any existing frameworks that address similar issues. The framework is then introduced followed by a discussion on its intended use. Further research areas and limitations of the framework are then addressed.
In this section what is meant by governance for the purposes of the project is addressed followed by a review of the bodies of literature relevant to governance and the Pipebots project. Due to the different issues facing infrastructure projects in the developing and developed worlds, the focus here is on infrastructure systems in developed economies.
The governance literature has been reviewed for themes that can be drawn upon to guide the Governance Framework, starting with understanding the term “governance” itself.
A common criticism of academic literature around governance is a failure to define what is meant by “governance” in the context under discussion (Özerol et al.,
When using the term governance, for many, it represents the move from “Government to governance”, a reference to the changes in Government structures from traditional top-down, command-and-control to the networks of State and non-State actors involved in running public services (Watson et al.,
Water governance in England was considered controversial in its privatisation, and arguably embodies the essence of what is meant by “Government to governance” (Walker,
The goals set by Government originally focussed on meeting demand and financial regulation. This has developed and expanded over time with duties extended around consumer objectives, competition, sustainable development and most recently to expressly include resilience (Centre for Competition Policy,
The above discussion on “governance” addresses actors and compliance with the forms of governance chosen, but does not address all functions of governance, for example, such as embedding justice. In only a handful of cases do governance definitions expressly refer to justice or similar allied terms such as equity (for examples, see Barbazza and Tello,
The view that justice thinking is needed to underpin governance when transforming a system is all-the-more powerful when dealing with the allocation of a life-essential resource such as water. Water is a resource under stress, even in temperate climates such as the UK (Environment Agency,
In seeking to articulate justice for the purposes of this study, reference is made to the conceptual framework around empirical notions of justice developed by Sikor et al. (
This current study seeks to explore the potential for justice questions at a project level for promoting adoption of better infrastructure interventions. The three dimensions of justice of distribution, process and recognition appear key to infrastructure decisions, especially in view of the post-pandemic levelling-up agendas (e.g., HM Treasury Ministry of Housing Communities Local Government Dept of Transport,
In summary, and from a project team's point of view, asking questions around who benefits, who carries the burden and who is consulted (communicated with) could help identify areas of conflict, aid understanding and communication, and make trade-offs explicit. In asking questions openly and systematically, it may also help shed light on unwitting prejudices or biases.
Drawing this together, the water and wastewater sector in the UK can be viewed as operating within a sphere of “governance”, rather than under a linear, top-down “Government”. Moreover, there are networks, relationships, power plays and social norms to be considered. This is, or should be, set against justice principles. It is from this grounding that the Governance Framework will be drawn.
Governance for this study can be summarised as the sphere created by rules (formal and informal), networks, processes and relationships, underscored by justice principles, that drive the water and wastewater sector forward and into which the project will need to integrate or influence to be successful.
The forms of governance for a given context are shown in
Forms of governance.
It follows from the use of the term governance in different contexts and in different epistemological backgrounds that there is more than one body of literature that may be relevant to the project. Drawing on different strands of literature also accords with the inter- and trans-disciplinary requirements for the resolution of “wicked” problems. The literature review uses a governance lens to address the following areas, looking for themes to take forward to support the project with a focus on aspects likely to be of relevance to a project team working in the sector, these are:
1) Governance around the interface of society and technology (See Sections entitled ‘Governance of Socio-Technical Systems (STS)’, ‘Transitions Research and the Multi-Level Perspective’ and ‘Responsible Innovation’);
2) Governance of natural resources, in this case water and wastewater management, centred around Socio-Ecological Systems (See Sections entitled ‘Governance of Natural Resources’, ‘Socio-Ecological Systems and Adaptive Management’, ‘Resource and Place’ and ‘Rules-in-use’)
3) How the disparate strands of SES and STS have been drawn together when considering infrastructure; and
4) Themes drawn from the above.
The Pipebots project seeks to bring about a transformational change to the existing water and wastewater infrastructure system. In doing so it accepts that bringing about change is not just about the technological “artefact” but its relationship to the existing system, the system including human and non-human components (Rip and Kemp,
Studies within transition research address the best nurturing conditions for innovations to thrive and bring about the desired change or transition. The MLP is one model that helps visualise a new technologies' journey from its creation in the “lab”
Applying the MLP to the current context (
The multi-level perspective interpreted for pipebots.
Looking at governance in this way, it is possible to see how a new technology may not only be influenced by governance (e.g., in allowable design parameters), but may also bring about the creation of new governance (e.g., prompting new policies or regulatory requirements). It also suggests that the forms of governance of primary influence over an intervention may change over time as the project moves from niche to regime to landscape engagement.
The Pipebots project needs to understand, and may even need to challenge, the governance landscape and regulatory regime. However, it has the most immediate opportunity to address its reason for being, influence outcomes and improve likely acceptability through its early engagement with ethics and principles in its own niche stage. This leads to engagement with a sub-section of STS literature: that of project level governance and Responsible Innovation (RI). In RI it is argued that project level governance becomes central to technology, not divorced from it or something left for others to consider later (Groves,
“
It is noted the AREA approach has been adopted by the UK's EPSRC (Stilgoe et al.,
Illustrating this through Pipebots, the project is intended to bring about transformational change in how pipes are inspected, and assets maintained. Their deployment is intended to impact on other infrastructure services such as highways and other buried infrastructure systems (through fewer trench excavations). Through an AREA lens, impacts can be anticipated. For example, the use of Pipebots in the regime will have an impact on what people are employed to do and the skills they require. Although this does not form part of the current grant, it is not far-fetched to anticipate the sensors could be adapted to gather data on the content of wastewater, identify energy sources in the network and gather a wide range of data on the use of water and disposal of wastewater. Indeed, a range of projects already exist exploring the use of sensors in wastewater, from detecting heat (Elías-Maxil et al.,
This study embraces the RI philosophies, often generated from the social sciences. There are alternative views. The lead author has encountered a range of responses when raising RI principles within the science and engineering communities, from full-scale embracing to outright rejection, and such an array of views may exist within any project team. Of course, the RI principles may not be applicable to all projects; it is argued they are more firmly applicable to technologies that are disruptive rather than those that bring about incremental change (Tait et al.,
From anecdotal comments, the author's experience and conflicts in an interdisciplinary setting is not an isolated one (e.g., Tait et al.,
The study of governance of socio-economic systems (SES) is considered as Pipebots directly impact on the management of key natural resources. The reasoning behind why issues such as water leakage need to be addressed is because a precious, natural resource needs to better managed and governed (Walker,
In exploring differences between STS with SES studies, it has been argued that with STS studies there is a lack of interest, knowledge and consideration of the many complexities of an SES (Ahlborg et al.,
A key aspect of the governance of an SES, through adaptive management, is the identification of the natural resource itself, its boundaries and its context. In contrast, STS is said not to be as “place bound” (Smith and Stirling,
SES suggests that how the resource is viewed and treated can be influenced by the governance regime. Governance being used in this way can be seen, for example, in metering policy which uses technology to seek a change in behaviour towards the resource (Loftus et al.,
Whatever stance is taken, the literature suggests the governance regime may shape behaviours towards the resource itself. Understanding the regime, and being conscious of the context and the boundaries of the system (where possible), could provide useful lines of questioning for a project team, such as Pipebots.
What also becomes apparent from SES studies and a consideration of “governance” is that rules may not only emanate from the State, but from a variety of situations and groups with varying degrees of formality (Ostrom,
This presents a formidable challenge for a project team, not least Pipebots. A route forward may be to draw in those with practical experience of the regime to support the project and help cut through to what is key, another potential link to, and justification for, the importance of networks. An aim would be to draw in insights from stakeholders on the actual rules-in-use. To an extent this is indicated by the conclusions of Larcom and van Gevelt (
There are common themes within STS and SES, in addition to subtle differences. For example, the lack of engagement with the resource itself in STS studies has been noted (Ahlborg et al.,
To illustrate the point, it is well recognised that technology, the environment and societal services are intimately combined, at both a fundamental and practical level, and decision-making therein requires an appreciation of their interconnectivity within a system. With Pipebots in mind for example:
Technology, includes (or should include) life cycle considerations–the extraction of natural resources, its production, manufacture, recyclability and, where all other options have been exhausted, end of use disposal. All of these can be justice issues, with impacts both environmentally and socially. This is well illustrated in the discussions around electric cars and battery disposal (Bonsu,
Whilst acknowledging the many benefits, critical infrastructure is sensitive to threats from technology and digitisation failure or abuse (including cybersecurity issues), in turn making STS and ecosystems more vulnerable (Cassotta and Sidortsov,
Vice versa, existing infrastructure can be overwhelmed by a complex mix of factors including social (poor governance, data management and planning) and environmental (climate change impacts), attested to in studies of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina (Daniels et al.,
There is potential for technological solutions to work alongside nature-based solutions (NBS), with calls to consider eco-engineering and smart NBS (Snep et al.,
There are also less obvious influences. The Pipebots project for example draws upon research into bio-robotics to learn from how the natural world has overcome physical hurdles.
Most directly, Pipebots is a technological tool that can, through pervasive sensing, gather data (or viewed another way, feedback) from the environment. It can provide that feedback to inform about the state of the environment or resource, and for human learning, decision-making and adaptation to take place in response. The impacts of this are likely to increase as we move towards digital twinning of our infrastructure systems and AI, with opportunities to better understand and manage natural resources through infrastructure.
The latter point may have particular resonance as we begin to fully appreciate human-induced threats to our environment. In his recent study for the UK Government, Dasgupta (2021:273) refers to Nature being “silent and invisible” and describes how this gives rise to negative externalities in its use or abuse. One can see how sensing may have an increasingly important role in supplying data and feedback to make the environment potentially more “visible” and support more resilient and sustainable (and environmentally just) outcomes, but this will only happen if supportive governance arrangements are in place. Particularly in cities, infrastructure systems are how we try to control (or at least manage) our natural resources; they are the mechanisms through which society functions and how we reduce (or produce) vulnerability (Tellman et al.,
Work here is not complete and there are calls for more to be done to explore the merging of these concepts (Markolf et al.,
Similarly, a relatively new concept, still in its infancy, is SETS (Social, Ecological and Technical Systems) which suggests the need to better integrate technology into SES thinking (e.g., Markolf et al.,
SETS here is not a governance framework, but a discussion piece and call to accept that resilient solutions require an understanding of ecological and social factors, not just technological factors. Governance is not absent but falls within the social system and is not discussed in detail (although there are calls in the paper for strong and just governance and improved transdisciplinarity; Markolf et al.,
To illustrate the issue, by considering networks within STS, SES and justice together, what becomes more evident is that the range of stakeholders may change depending on the disciplinary focus. For example, the stakeholders that may support the progress of new technology may differ from the stakeholders interested in the natural resource one may be seeking to influence or the societal inequalities one is seeking to re-balance. Conversely, it highlights how asking limited questions from a single viewpoint can inadvertently miss stakeholders and their relevant views. Research recognising this, engaging with participants and asking questions from the multiple perspectives of justice, SES and STS, may be of benefit. It may also be the case that engaging and improving the project team's network, systematically and with these principles in mind, can help in articulating and understanding why there is engagement with particular groups, who may be missing, and what it hopes to achieve.
Drawing this together, through engaging with the literature, nascent questions that combine with the forms of governance start to materialise showing how governance and its rules, formal and informal, may shape and influence a project:
The Overarching Governance Regime: What type of governance regime (e.g., market, regulatory, common, hybrid) is in operation? Who are the actors involved in governing? This sets the regime from which forms of governance and actors come into being.
The Forms of Governance: What tools do the actors use to govern the system? What is the law of the land relevant to the project and what regulatory framework, if any, is in place? How does the regime influence the informal and formal forms of governance that are implemented?
Social Networks: Who is in the project's network? Are there gaps in the stakeholder groups represented? Can the network be drawn upon as a resource; e.g., can the network advise on rules-in practise (not just rules-in-writing)?
The Resource: How is the resource itself viewed, how are the boundaries of the system defined and how may that affect the policy, rules, social norms and behaviours to be considered?
Technology and Rules: Applying new technology to that system, what rules and policies are in play and how do they impact on the project and its business case? How may AREA (anticipate reflect, engage and act) be used to inform a project's strategy when considering the impact of the new technology and where responsibilities may arise?
Justice: How (and when, or at what TRL stage) does the project address justice issues (including Responsible Innovation and AREA), if at all?
And once those questions have been explored:
7. Iterative Processes: How should the governance regime be adjusted (refined and enhanced, interpreted, better articulated)?
In terms of point 7, should the governance regime not form part of the same iterative engineering (design, operation and progressive improvement) process as the infrastructure and its operational systems? This has been argued in terms of “engineering all the forms of governance to enable the business models (associated with an infrastructure intervention) to deliver their full suite of intended benefits” by Rogers (
These can be taken forward as themes from which questions for a project team may be raised.
The Governance Framework is intended to support a project team (such as Pipebots). In addressing this aim, several frameworks
In reviewing the frameworks, the PAS (Publicly Available Specification) framework (BSI,
PAS:440:2020 (BSI,
Responsible Innovation (RI)is seen as a foundation for more flexible governance, noting that key to allowing flexible governance is the extent to which the actors behave responsibly (ibid). In this way, responsible behaviour and standards, rather than prescriptive laws, form the basis of regulation at an early TRL stage. Governance then moves into different forms of flexible and adaptive governance depending on the nature of the innovation. It is prompted by concerns around governance of innovation and the need for safety to be balanced with scope, for an innovation to be explored and not constrained by pre-emptive, overly constraining governance systems. The rationale for the work has further resonance with the Pipebots project, where current regulatory regimes were never intended to cover robots in the water supply (infrastructure). How such innovations are managed to allow for new potential solutions, whilst keeping a precautionary approach, is the balance that is sought (not least for a project such as Pipebots). A first step suggested is for responsible behaviour and trust to be built by innovators, guided by RI codes.
There are two frameworks. The first addresses Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) the second addresses Responsible Innovation (RI). The former addresses CSR alongside issues of corporate governance which are outside the scope for this current study. The latter aligns with this current study in its recognition that there is very little to support a project team. The RI framework is project-specific and aimed at innovations in the corporate sector. Therein it asks eight questions aimed at addressing the impacts of an innovation: what are the societal benefits (1); and risks (2); environmental benefits (3); and risks (4); health-related benefits (5); and risks (6); value chain elements (RI behaviour by other significant actors) (7); and what are the regulatory elements (8)? There is also guidance on how to complete the table. The guidance acknowledges the need to draw on “outsiders”, as with a network. The framework draws on AREA in responding, engaging and acting on those questions. The associated literature also stresses the importance of the timing of engagement, particularly with the wider public, and how that engagement should take place.
It uses a risk assessment approach, albeit to encourage broader thinking about the impacts of a project beyond its immediate design and construction. The questions are broadly drafted (albeit with separate guidance). This has the benefit of keeping the framework itself simple and accessible, but, for the purposes of this study, does not make plain thinking elicited from the governance literature. The only direct question on governance is “what are the regulatory elements”? This is a very general question. It may be the project team has specific and detailed knowledge of the sector, but maybe not the wider legal landscape, while the experience of members of the project team around legal and other regulatory issues may be limited. It does not promote a deeper understanding of the governance context required for the current project (accepting, of course, that this was not why it was drafted).
Whilst it was not designed to address the aims of this study, there is scope to use and adapt the PAS framework. The risk categories used in the framework (health, environment and society) align with the issues legal systems often seek to protect, and as such could be adapted further for use in a governance framework. The focus is also not just on risks, but on articulating benefits—social, environmental and economic—which can be useful as a communication tool, to make plain trade-offs and to support a future business case. It touches upon networks, society and ethics, and regulation to a degree. It does not directly address the regime, the natural resource, rules-in-practise (as opposed to formal regulation in writing) and the forms of governance in any detail. Justice is not referred to expressly, but its foundations are based on ethical considerations.
It has helpful thinking to take forward, capturing some of the themes elicited. It also provides endorsement for this study in its acknowledgement of the need for more practical tools and support, not just for policymakers but for projects and innovators. It provides a basis to expand upon.
The themes garnered from the literature were collated. A series of questions were then devised to address the issues raised by the themes. Those questions form the basis of the Governance Framework to be piloted (
Governance framework.
A summary of the key findings is as follows:
The Governance Framework provided a prompt for potential landscape governance issues to be considered at an early stage by considering risks and the potential impacts on human safety, security (including data), land and the environment. This led to several varied conversations, for example around the transfer of data from below to above ground and the legal position of the robot “escaping” from the pipe.
Early transdisciplinary work with governance questions in mind highlighted practical issues over regulation and procurement contracts, which were not otherwise observable.
The most significant findings were the type of answers that the Governance Framework prompted and how they could be used (see
a. Context and Narrative: For example these revolved around the resource of interest and its spatial distribution, as well as the type of regime governing them. These questions provide a clear context for the application of the intervention beyond the technology itself. In the current project there were clear governance differences between “water” and “wastewater” applications.
b. Networks: Connection to regulators proved to be a notable absence. The current regulations governing potable water were not drafted with the use of miniaturised robots in mind, prompting the need for consideration of how this new application may be viewed by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI).
c. Design Requirements: As an example within the regulations governing drinking water quality in England (see UK Parliament,
d. Strategy: There were several examples, such as the extent to which there were network gaps prompted thinking as to how and when those gaps should be filled; to what extent an RI code should be adopted and how could this be used to address justice and societal concerns around robotics; a review of policy was one factor that led to further training within the project team on the issues around digital twinning and how Pipebots may better integrate with a national infrastructure digital twin initiative.
e. Business Case: How the current governance regime and landscape supports (or hinders) the case for change. As the project moves forward, future governance scenarios will also be considered.
The Governance Framework provided an impetus for dialogue across an interdisciplinary team, sensitivity to providing governance information without stifling creativity being an important premise for the project team.
The Governance Framework did not provide answers but flagged areas of enquiry or gaps in knowledge. Mechanisms to address and follow the findings would be needed as part of project management. For example, gaps in networks could be addressed with social or stakeholder network tools.
Following on from the above, the Governance Framework would be at its most useful when integrated into the project's strategy planning so gaps and unanswered questions could be resolved or carried forward.
The Pipebots project is in the early TRL stage (1–3). Whilst thinking about future TRL stages is helpful, the need for the Governance Framework to be re-applied at different TRL stages was apparent.
Governance to themes (via framework).
The Governance Framework was therefore able to form the basis of constructive dialogue. The categorisation of the answers—the context and narrative for the project, design requirements, network development, strategy and the business case for change—helped channel the responses into wide-ranging proposals for integrating governance into the project. It provided another lens to view a technical project, with tangible proposals that could integrate with the technical and design aspects of the project rather than being distinct from them; in this respect it supported multi-disciplinary working.
The study has sought to ensure its foundations are rooted in academic theory, taking advantage of the works of the pivotal thinkers around the governance of social, environmental and/or technical systems. The literature is showing a move towards more integrated thinking, particularly around infrastructure, although more work, including around the integration of justice, is warranted as the development of thinking on governance that marries these concepts, and treats them as a whole, remains in its infancy. In view of the nascent nature of the merging of disciplines at a conceptual level, it is not surprising there is a lack of usable tools embracing these perspectives. This study has taken steps to address this gap as well as ensuring that justice thinking is also expressly embedded.
It follows that the Governance Framework created is both novel and original, and in its first manifestation. The framework was prompted by the absence of an adequate existing tool that could be used—the ambition in marrying these strands and designing a practical tool was born out of necessity. It therefore requires further application and development to cover the wide range of potential uses. It is hoped this publication will prompt insightful thoughts and comments on its adaptation from the academic and practitioner communities.
In terms of furthering its application, it could be used as a framework of themes from which to pin research on future governance scenarios (through the analysis of the regime, the forms of governance chosen, the issue-specific regulation and policy, the network, rules-in-practise, justice and ethics, and the view taken of the natural resource or asset affected). It may also support work on how governance can be created to be both supportive of necessary change whilst protecting that which requires protection. Work within the current project will consider what these themes look like in various future scenarios, and in turn how this may affect the business case for change.
There is also potential to extend the study beyond the overarching governance regime to thinking around project and corporate governance. The project governance literature draws on corporate governance and economic theory such as transaction cost economics (TCE) (see Ahola et al.,
The Pipebots project, a pervasive sensing tool affecting water and wastewater systems, recognised the importance of engaging with governance at an early stage for the success of the project. The first step was to be clear on what governance looks like in this context, both for terms of reference and for communication. Governance, in its whole essence, is a trans-disciplinary subject and the means of analysing it can be a tool to bring together science, justice, society and natural resources. However, whilst governance is an issue that has been grappled with from multiple perspectives and disciplines, those thoughts have not yet been fully integrated. It has grown from different needs and focusses. The subsequent challenge was to draw in knowledge on governance issues from different disciplinary backgrounds, synthesise that thinking where possible, and then take steps to operationalise those concepts in a useful and practical way to an interdisciplinary team. The Governance Framework is proposed as a novel and essential step to meet that formidable challenge.
Whilst issues abound on governance of the environment, technology and society, it is project teams that grapple with the practical consequences. Governance regimes impact on networks, forms of governance and shape infrastructure interventions. At one level the resulting Governance Framework gives a way forward for a project team seeking to engage with the governance sphere that will surround the intervention they are seeking to make. What it also does is reflect on how governance affects projects, not only what they choose to deliver but whether the results will be embraced or rejected. Early results from the Governance Framework show the potential of using governance as a prompt for thinking. It asks questions around the wider implications of an intervention, informs design and flags areas where governance itself may need to be challenged. It highlights how projects may need to adapt their strategies, business plan and design, and seeks to embed questions of whether they are responsible and just.
What has also become apparent is how governance itself could adapt and transform. Most significantly perhaps, rather than erecting barriers to creativity it can support a business case for the transformational change needed to thrive. Accepting that governance regimes, like the design and operation of infrastructure systems, should be subjected to engineering processes (i.e., undergo iterative analysis and progressive refinement, leading to better outcomes) might be a helpful starting point for such a transformation.
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
ES conceived and designed the framework as part of her doctoral studies, under the supervision of CR and DH, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. CR added substantive material to, and DH provided detailed comments on, the first draft. All authors contributed to the manuscript revision, read and approved the submitted version.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grants EP/S016813 (Pervasive Sensing of Buried Pipes) and EP/R017727 (UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities Coordination Node), and both EPSRC under grant 2278805 and United Utilities for supporting the doctoral research study of the first author, of which this is a part.
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The handling editor JE is currently organizing a Research Topic with one author CR.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
1A description of the various Pipebots “Themes” can be found at
2The distinction used by Jensen (
3As well as immersion in governance literature as part of the project, a formal literature review using the Web of Science database was used to check for any less well-known sources. A search was undertaken using “governance” and “infrastructure” as search terms alongside “frameworks” or “tools”. This elicited 1134 responses. A category filter was used to exclude categories such as meteorology and imaging science and focus on civil engineering, environmental sciences and studies, urban studies and law. Those not readily accessible and not open source were also excluded as these may not be accessible to a project team. This resulted in 142 responses. As anticipated the range of subject matters and focusses of attention was considerable. An initial filter through titles not relevant to the project goals left 75 documents where abstracts were considered. The abstract review identified 2 responses of interest, one of which had already been identified by the author.