As groundwater extraction increases worldwide, generating a range of economic and ecological impacts, many countries are implementing regulation systems to restrict groundwater use. Their implementation often remains problematic as a result of low compliance in set rules. Key to low compliance is the limited involvement of stakeholders in the setting-up of rules. At the same time, many factors make stakeholder engagement in groundwater management difficult. Furthermore, as groundwater debates focus mostly on limiting (current) groundwater abstraction, they provide limited scope for solutions bringing benefits to current water abstractors, making them de facto opponents to rule expected to negatively impact them. Our main objectives is to demonstrate that well-designed stakeholder processes can deliver socially-accepted management rules with higher chances of been complied with, thereby enhancing groundwater long-term sustainability. We focus on how effective stakeholder involvement impacts stakeholder groundwater literacy, develops capacity to think long-term and capture trade-offs, and contributes to developing innovative rules. We also investigate how a paradigm shift from narrowly defined groundwater management (limiting water abstraction) to conjunctive soil and groundwater management (managing "net water extraction" by bringing attention to (water) retention and recharge, including nature-based solutions) gives more chances to successful stakeholder process outcomes. Our research builds on: 1) a truly transdisciplinary approach combining biophysical and human sciences (sociology, economics, political sciences?); 2) strong stakeholder mobilisation from research design to the critical understanding of results; 3) the combination of context-specific approaches (7 case studies representing a diversity of contexts in France, US, Taiwan and Russia) and transversal (comparative) research ensuring collective learning and the identification of pre-conditions for successful stakeholder processes delivering socially accepted groundwater management rules.