Making an impact on Bali's water crisis: Research to mobilize NGOs, the tourism industry and policy makers

This paper explores the role of activist-academics to bring attention to Bali's water crisis. The impact case study examines how we shaped public discourse, supported NGOs, influenced the local tourism industry, and nudged government policy. We critically evaluate how as change makers we enhanced knowledge exchange, and the factors that supported impactful tourism and water nexus research. We explore how the unintended consequences of our crisis research have undermined our impact by being used to justify new unsustainable development projects, and how the power of the tourism industry has shaped legislation. From this we identify the lessons learned for creating impactful research including purpose, partners, time frame and on-going contact. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This paper discusses the role of activist-academics in raising awareness of Bali's water crisis, evaluating their impact on public discourse, NGOs, local tourism, and government policy through a case study. By critically evaluating unintended consequences and factors supporting impactful research, the paper identifies key lessons for creating impactful research.