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Dr. ir. Leon Hermans

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Leon Hermans is an assistant professor in policy analysis. He has been in this position since 2006. From 2003 to 2006 Leon worked as an associate professional officer at the Water Management and Development unit of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy. Leon obtained his PhD degree in policy analysis from TU Delft with a thesis entitled “Actor analysis for Water Resources Management” in 2005.

Leon’s research and teaching are about methods that support informed decision-making on complex problems in multi-actor systems. How to combine analytic rigour with policy relevance and meaningful interaction among actors? Policy evaluation is a core area of attention, focusing on collaborative learning about the impacts of policy decisions as a key mechanism in society to remain adaptive in the face of uncertainty and ongoing change. Applications are mainly in the water domain – broadly defined to include water resources management, flood management and water and sanitation. Teaching includes bachelor and master level courses on methods for problem structuring and actor analysis. Recent research projects focused in policy games and learning for water management in the Netherlands and in countries in Asia and Africa.

Key publications

  • Hermans, L.M., S.W. Cunningham, J.H. Slinger (2014). The usefulness of game theory as a method for policy evaluation. Evaluation 20(1): 10 – 25.
  • Hermans, LM, JH Slinger, SW Cunningham (2013). The use of monitoring information in policy-oriented learning: Insights from two cases in coastal management. Environmental Science & Policy 24 (1):  24 – 36.
  • Hermans, L.M., A.C. Naber, B. Enserink (2012). An approach to design long-term monitoring and evaluation frameworks in multi-actor systems – a case in water management. Evaluation and Program Planning 35 (4): 427 – 438.
  • Enserink, Bert, Leon Hermans, Jan Kwakkel, Wil Thissen, Joop Koppenjan, Pieter Bots. (2010). Policy Analysis of Multi-Actor Systems. Boom Lemma publishers, The Hague, 175 pp.
  • Hermans, L.M. and W.A.H. Thissen (2009). Actor analysis methods and their use for public policy analysts. European Journal of Operational Research, 196(2): 808-818.

Link to personal Metis list

Education

  • Analyse van Multi-Actor Systemen (TB211, Bachelor) – see www.spm2110.tudelft.nl
  • Actor and Strategy Models (EPA1143, MSc)
  • Supervision and advise for students’ thesis research

Projects

  • Shifting Grounds: Institutional transformation, enhancing knowledge and capacity to manage groundwater security in peri-urban Ganges delta systems (Urbanizing Deltas of the World programme, NWO)
  • Strengthening Strategic Delta Planning Processes in Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Vietnam and Beyond (Urbanizing Deltas of the World programme, NWO)
  • BE SAFE: Governing Implementation sub-project (Building with Nature programme, NWO)
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