Examining the benefits of collaboration: the Provider-User Matrix for collaborative flood risk management illustrated by the case of the Ljusnan River, Sweden

This paper examines the benefits of collaboration in flood risk management by introducing a Provider-User Matrix. The matrix is illustrated through a Swedish case of polycentric decision-making. In the Swedish case the users have not yet benefited from collaboration-benefits such as a more advanced understanding of the flood response system or from sharing detailed hydrological data; benefits that should be easily implemented. The Provider-User Matrix offers both a more holistic way to study benefits and a way to start raising the efficiency of collaboration, by identifying mismatches between the benefits provided and the benefits that users need.