Real-World Decision Aiding: A Case in Participatory Water Management (original) (raw)
Related papers
Real world decision-aiding: a case of water management
2009
In this chapter we present a proposal for decision-aiding i ticipatory situation in the real world may constitute, in particular for wa agement. We first outline the context in which these decision-aiding p take place: “messy” inter-organizational settings. We then present som available decision-aiding theories and models that could be used, and ada these, a decision-aiding process model based on Tsoukiàs (2007), for th organizational context. We next highlight how the model was used in a intervention for the creation of the Lower Hawkesbury Estuary Managemen in Australia. We demonstrate how this model significantly aided the struc the decision-aiding process and promoted insights on its usefulness and val We also provide an ex-post operational validation of the Mazri (2007) d aiding model for participatory structure design. From the real-world inte case we also justify our claims that: 1) we need decision-aiding methodo improve inter-organizational decision-mak th these methodologi...
Real world decision-aiding: a case of participatory water management
In this chapter we present a proposal for decisionaiding in a participatory situation in the real world may constitute, in particular for water management. We first outline the context in which these decisionaiding processes take place: "messy" interorganizational settings. We then present some of the available decisionaiding theories and models that could be used, and adapt one of these, a decisionaiding process model based on Tsoukiàs , for this inter organizational context. We next highlight how the model was used in a research intervention for the creation of the Lower Hawkesbury Estuary Management Plan in Australia. We demonstrate how this model significantly aided the structuring of the decisionaiding process and promoted insights on its usefulness and validity. We also provide an expost operational validation of the Mazri (2007) decision aiding model for participatory structure design. From the realworld intervention case we also justify our claims that: 1) we need decisionaiding methodologies to improve interorganizational decisionmaking for water management, as well as theoretical models and problem structuring methods that can form useful parts of these methodologies; and 2) we need negotiation skills, amongst others, for putting the methodologies in place in the real world.
2006
Planning and management of water resources are faced with increasingly high levels of complexity, uncertainty and conflict. Traditional technical and top-down management strategies have proved inadequate, forcing a move to more "integrated" forms of management, planning and decision making that can include stakeholders and communities, as well as technical experts and policy makers. These integrated forms of management require not only good technical or scientific ability, but a range of "art-like" skills including communication, creativity and the capacity to acknowledge and integrate diverse points of view. However, processes designed to aid such inter-organisational or multi-stakeholder decisionmaking are rare and in need of investigation. This paper proposes a process of "participatory modelling" using a series of semi-structured collective decision cycles that can aid decisions involving multiple stakeholders in water management and planning. The participatory modelling process outlined in this paper is designed to capture and integrate both tacit and explicit knowledge from stakeholders, right from the problem identification phase through to the final decision making, implementation and ongoing monitoring and evaluation. A brief idealised example of the participatory modelling process testing in Montpellier, France, is highlighted, as well as further questions and identified priority research areas.
Decision Support in Participatory Contexts
International Journal of Decision Support System Technology, 2019
Organizing the participation of multiple stakeholders in decision processes is now a widespread request with a visible consequence being the expansion of the analyst's role from problem solver to facilitator of stakeholder interactions. Within this evolutionary movement, this article claims that an analyst creates the organisation through which the set of stakeholders involved in the decision process interact. This article also claims that the ability of this organisation to fit contextual requirements is of utmost importance for the success of an analyst's intervention. This article is organised to support these two claims. Firstly, it describes the terms of organisational design and the mechanisms through which it may influence the decision processes. Secondly, the authors review how these aspects are already discussed within OR/MS literature so as to highlight current limitations and future possibilities for greater investigation of the place and role of organizational de...
Experiment on decision-making approaches for complex water management issues
Water management problems are embedded in a natural and social system that is characterized by complexity. Knowledge uncertainty and the existence of divergent actors' perceptions contribute to this complexity. Consequently, dealing with water management issues is not just a problem of knowledge uncertainty; it is a problem of ambiguity too. In this paper, we investigate how a decision-making process, for a complex water management issue, influences the creation of a knowledge base, the development of actors' perceptions and the formulation of a problem-solution combination. There are many different approaches to decision-making processes. We distinguish two 'extremes': the analytical decision-making approach and the participatory decision-making approach. In the analytical approach, decision-making is based on rationality and objectivity. This process is non-interactive, i.e. it assumes one steering actor. Participatory decisionmaking is an interactive process. During this process several actors contribute to problem structuring. In literature, many examples of empirical case studies on decision-making processes for water management can be found. Nonetheless, as every decision-making process is unique, it is difficult to compare results from different case studies. Therefore, the aim of the study presented in this paper is to make such a comparison using two decision-making processes, which focus on the same problem situation. This comparison sheds a light on the effectiveness of participatory processes, while most literature simply assumes such effectiveness.
According to the definition provided by the Global Water Partnership (GWP), Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) “is a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maximise the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems” (GWP-TAC, 2000). The emphasis is thus on the coordinated development and management of water and land resources, with the shared objective of maximising socio-economic welfare in such a way that key ecosystem functions are maintained. IWRM adopts the principles of ecological sciences in terms of system approaches and technical and analytical tools to tackle water management problems. A common paradigm within the context of IWRM is the relevance of the participatory approach, which is becoming a prerequisite of every legislation and plan. According to the GWP again, Public Participation (PP) requires “that stakeholders at all levels of the social structure have an impact on decisions at different levels of water management”. Only PP at all levels (international, national regional and local) may assure transparency and accountability of the policy/decision process. In the field of water management, integrated approaches to the resource imply the need for considering the social aspects of water use, as well as the economic and environmental spheres.
Decision Support as Knowledge Creation: An Information System Design Theory
2007 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS'07), 2007
Water resource management decision making continues to be a significant problem worldwide and is increasing in importance as nations such as China and the US continue to develop, placing significant demands on water resources to sustain and improve a way of life. Adding to that challenge is the geographic reality that water is not distributed evenly. Thus, from region to region large deficits for available clean water are foreseen. A core problem within regions involves efficient, effective and equitable distribution of water under conditions of increasing shortages due to growth. More and more stakeholder groups are voicing their concerns (who might not have in the past) about what availability and access, as they want to participate in the decision process in more meaningful ways. A regional, basin-level investigation that incorporates diverse stakeholder groups (decision makers, technical specialists, and environmental groups) is now recognized as an important part of effective and equitable management of water resources. However, water can be transported between basins, and thus we need to incorporate hydrologic, economic, environmental, and institutional considerations that at times involve multiple basins. All of the considerations taken together create a rather complex decision problem, not the least of which involves providing diverse stakeholder groups with access to information. Information techniques and tools designed to address complex humancomputer-human decision problems are still underdeveloped , as the science of participatory design itself is underdeveloped. As such, their application in society is next to nonexistent. This problem of providing participatory access to information has been recognized in the US for quite some time, but in the past several years, public (stakeholder) participation has also been an emerging issue in China-particularly for environmentally related topics like water resources. In addition, two approaches to decision support-multi-objective and multi-attribute have not been compared in regards to their support of participatory decision support for water resources. Multiobjective techniques emphasize optimization among competing objectives when choosing options. Multi-attribute techniques emphasize interactive trade-off analyses when choosing options. Integrated and improved designs for advancing participatory cyberinfrastructure tools are important issues contributing to the advancement of digital governance.
Participatory decision making in reservoir planning
2002
The technologies and methods for integrated planning and management of water resource systems have matured considerably over the past decades. However, relatively few of them have been actually and regularly applied in real world decisional processes. We feel this is essentially due to a general lack of engagement of stakeholders and decision makers at every stage of the decisional process. Innovative methodologies and tools to improve participation are presented, with focus on water reservoir systems.
Design of an institutional decision-making process: The case of urban water management
Journal of Environmental Management, 2009
Urban water infrastructure expenditures cause a major financial burden to municipalities. In the opinion of many policy-makers, public funds may alleviate this burden and facilitate environmental policies. However, practice has shown that despite ambitious policies, funding often follows traditional costdominated thinking. In Austria, national policy-makers were interested in new guidelines for funding that increase the transparency of the planning, ensure the adequate treatment of ecological problems, and foster stakeholder involvement, but keep the process as simple as possible, and require minimal changes of the current guidelines. An interdisciplinary project team conducted such a study. Its outcome was tested in two pilot projects. Based on these experiences, policy-makers finally implemented the recommended guidelines for the funding of communal urban water infrastructure projects. A general observation about the policy-making process was a conservative attitude of policy-makers. They prefer simple constraints (precautionary principle) and flexible negotiations (delegation) to complex assessment and decision-aid methodologies.