Analyzing the Factors Affecting the Success and Failure of Technological Researches in the Water Industry in Iran

Due to the water crisis, drought, population increase, and lack of conventional water resources, the use of new technologies to use unconventional water and manage consumption in different sectors is highly needed. In the present study, the factors affecting the success and failure of technological research in the water industry in Iran were analyzed with the aim of identifying the reasons for not applying of the country's water technological projects, inventions, and research. To provide effective solutions to strengthen the success and prevent the failure of water technologies, 15 questionnaires based on the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) were completed by experts, experienced, knowledgeable, and proficient in the subject in the autumn and winter of 2022 and the results analyzed in the spring of 2023. According to the purpose of the study, the hierarchical structure included four technical, economic, social, and environmental criteria, each of which had four sub-criteria. After completing the questionnaires, the weights of criteria and sub-criteria were determined using Expert Choice software. To measure the accuracy of completed questionnaires, the inconsistency rate was calculated and equaled 0.09, which was less than the limit (0.1). The examination of the final weight of each of the sub-criteria showed that the first to third rank among all the investigated factors in the four main criteria, respectively, the ease of repair sub-criteria (S1) of the technical criteria with a final weight of 0.243, useful life (S4) from the technical criteria with a weight of 0.158 and the operation and maintenance cost (W4) from the economic criteria with a weight of 0.120. In general, the first two factors in the technical criteria and the superior factor in the economic criteria play a role as the most effective factors in the effectiveness of strengthening the success and preventing the failure of water technologies.