SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Systems Engineering
Implementing solutions: A review exploring determinants for the implementation of solutions to food-energy-water system challenges
Provisionally accepted
Paula Williams1,2*
E. Jamie Trammell3
Leah Jones-Crank4Ruchie Pathak5
Erich Seamon6Alyssa S. Thomas7Daniel R. Cronan8
Andrew Kliskey1,2*- 1University of Idaho, Moscow, United States
- 2Center for Resilient Communities, Moscoe, Idaho, United States
- 3Southern Oregon University, Ashland, United States
- 4University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
- 5The University of Alabama System, Tuscaloosa, United States
- 6Baylor University, Waco, United States
- 7Alyssa S. Thomas Consulting, Riverside, California, United States
- 8Washington State University, Pullman, United States
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This paper examines the advancements that food, energy, and water systems (FEWS) researchers have made in proposing and implementing solutions to FEWS issues. We examined 483 FEWS papers published between 2015 and 2023 to determine whether solutions were proposed or implemented and the factors leading to solution proposal and implementation. Our research suggests that only 18 of the papers led to solutions. Factors that contributed to finding solutions included the integration of stakeholders into the research project, the inclusion of governmental stakeholders and inclusion of diverse stakeholders. Although the majority of manuscripts included computational or statistical models, our research suggests that they do not lead to solution proposal or implementation even when stakeholders are included. We call for greater incorporation of stakeholders in FEWS projects in order to more effectively address the environmental issues that arise in these systems.
Keywords: Community Engagement, energy and water systems (FEWS), Food, implementation of solutions, stakeholder engagement, transformative engagement
Received: 08 Oct 2025; Accepted: 29 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Williams, Trammell, Jones-Crank, Pathak, Seamon, Thomas, Cronan and Kliskey. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Paula Williams
Andrew Kliskey
Disclaimer: 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.