Özerol, G., J. Vinke-de Kruijf, M. C. Brisbois, C. Casiano Flores, P. Deekshit, C. Girard, C. Knieper, S. J. Mirnezami, M. Ortega-Reig, P. Ranjan, N. J. S. Schröder, and B. Schröter. 2018. Comparative studies of water governance: a systematic review. Ecology and Society 23(4):43. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-10548-230443

Purpose: In Mexico, only 19.3 per cent of industrial water is treated (Green-Peace, 2014, pp. 3-4), whereas municipal treatment levels are approximately 50 per cent (CONAGUA, 2014a). This paper aims to focus on how the wastewater treatment plant policy, from a circular economy perspective, is affected by the governance context at the Presa Guadalupe sub-basin. Circular economy can contribute to water innovations that help in improving water quality. However, such benefits are not easily achieved. This case provides an example of the complexity and challenges that the implementation of a circular economy model can face. Design/methodology/approach: Data are collected via semi-structured in-depth interviews with the stakeholders that are members of the Presa Guadalupe Commission. The contextual interaction theory (CIT) is the theoretical basis for this analysis (Boer de and Bressers, 2011; Bressers, 2009). Findings: The findings show that the wastewater treatment plant policy plays an important role in a circular economy model. Some incentives towards a circular economy model are already in place; however, the hurdles of a top-down implementation perspective, low availability of resources, prioritisation of short-term results, lack of enforcement of the “polluter pays” principle and a linear model of water systems need to be overcome. If Mexico wants to move towards a circular economy model and if the government wants to enforce sustainable development principles, wastewater treatment is a challenge that must be addressed. Originality/value: There are few studies in the circular economy literature that have analysed its implementation under a governance arrangement perspective.

The public sector is facing significant challenges regarding public services provision, including declination of users’ trust and limited resources. An alternative approach to traditional public service provision with the potential to address these challenges is the co-creation of public services. Co-creation promises to foster innovative solutions to provide high-quality services that respond to users’ needs. Considering this background, we aim at critically exploring public service co-creation via a scoping review, employing the PRISMA-ScR method. Our review focuses on 25 empirical studies out of 75 analyzed articles that examine the implementation of co-creation of (digital) public services and investigates how the empirical literature portrays the concept of public service co-creation. Our findings primarily suggest that co-creation can be implemented in a wide range of sectors and settings, to improve public services and to foster innovation, throughout the whole public service cycle, using a variety of digital, analog and hybrid co-creation tools and strategies. Yet, our review has also shown that there is still an implementation gap that needs to be bridged between knowing and doing in the context of public services co-creation in a digital setting.

Current open data systems lag behind in their promised value creation and sustainability. The objective of the current study is twofold: 1) to investigate whether existing open data systems meet the requirements of open data ecosystems, and 2) to develop a research agenda that discusses the gaps between current open data systems on the one hand and participatory, value-creating, sustainable open data ecosystems on the other hand. The literature reveals that the main characteristics of value-creating, sustainable open data ecosystems are user-drivenness, inclusiveness, circularity, and skill-based. Our comparative case study of five open data systems in various application domains and countries highlighted that none of these systems are real open data ecosystems: they often do not balance open data supply and demand, exclude specific user groups and domains, are linear, and lack skill-training. We elaborate on a research agenda that discusses how research should address the challenge of making open data ecosystems more value-generating and sustainable.

Purpose: This paper aims to associate two fields of research: circular economy and the restoration of water cycle through the implementation of rainwater catchment systems in urban zones. Design/methodology/approach: This study considers the case of the metropolitan zone of Guadalajara, México. This urban concentration is the second largest in Mexico. It faces floods each year with a cost of over US$26m, while demand of water has a production cost over US$24m. At the same time, the aquifers are drying due to uncontrolled urbanization and increasing the impervious area over the recharge zones. In addition, rainwater is combined with wastewater, elevating the cost of the wastewater treatment because the amount and quality of water to treat exceeds the systems’ capacity. This situation causes floods and decreases the availability of ground water. These problems are reflected in the imbalance of parameters of water cycle and a new approach is needed. The circular economy model can help to preserve one of our most vital resources. Scarcity is already so pronounced that we cannot reach many of our desired economic, social and environmental goals. Technologies that help balance supply and demand can also help water (both stock and flow) to become part of a circular model. To prove this, the authors present a hypothetical scenario based on a pilot project and a basin modeling of Guadalajara, Mexico. Findings: Through this paper, it is possible to demonstrate that rainwater harvesting can play an important role in circular economy. Using the rainwater catchment systems, the cost of damages caused by floods could be decreased, the demand of water could be reduced, cost of production can be reduced, the aquifers can be recharged and the wastewater treatments can be improved. Originality/value: Few papers have been developed to associate two fields of research (circular economy and the restoration of water cycle), using rainwater catchment systems as the central element.