Muddy Waters: Design Thinking for Understanding the Multi-Organizational Problem Space of the Water Sector

Context and motivation: Climate change is manifested by climate variability, rising temperatures (and thus evaporation), and extreme events such as droughts and floods, which have a profound effect on the availability of natural resources, for example, high-quality water. While several technologies for addressing these challenges are available, their adoption is not widespread. In this study, a design thinking (DT) approach was applied to understand the problem space of floods and their handling by the Israeli water sector. Specifically, we aim at addressing the following question: What are the gaps in and barriers to adopting solutions that address sewerage flooding during extreme heavy rainfall events? The DT approach exposed major problems in the conduct of the water sector, including a lack of communication among organizations, the ill-defined distribution of responsibility, unclear and conflicting guidance, and insufficient funds and technological solutions, all hindering the possibility of adopting an integrative solution. This study demonstrates the role that DT plays in understanding a complex, multi-organizational problem space, in our case, the climate change readiness of the water sector, before delving into technological development. Any solution development should involve participants from the various organizations involved in the challenge. It is vital to address not only each organization’s requirements but also its technology adoption barriers and to initiate a comprehensive discussion, ultimately resulting in a shared understanding of all the facets of the challenge that can impact solution development and deployment.