A framework for stakeholder workshops bridging policymaking and implementation in flood risk governance

Flood risk in Europe is intensifying, yet a persistent gap between policy frameworks like the EU Floods Directive and locally actionable protection measures continues to produce devastating outcomes, as recent catastrophic events have demonstrated. Stakeholder workshops are widely advocated as bridging mechanisms, but are typically designed ad hoc, disconnected from systematic evidence, and lacking institutional follow-up. This paper addresses this deficit through a structured narrative review of the European flood governance literature, identifying gaps along four dimensions: knowledge, institutional, participation, and implementation. These gaps are translated into four evidence-informed design principles, which are then operationalized into a modular, phased workshop framework integrating collaborative governance, boundary object theory, adaptive governance, knowledge co-production, behavioural economics, and the Systems Innovation Approach. The framework's fixed logical structure (gaps, principles, phases, institutional outputs) ensures theoretical traceability, while its adaptable content enables application across diverse European governance contexts, hazard types, and institutional settings. Empirical validation through pilot implementation is identified as the priority next step.