Decision tools used in operations research, systems analysis and integrated assessment can complement participatory processes by rendering questions of uncertainty and ignorance more explicit. Analytical decision tools, such as multi-criteria mapping, outranking methods or multiple-attribute utility-based models, can support science-policy interfaces particularly in complex environmental systems.
Decision tools allow translating different viewpoints into decision criteria to be taken into account in decision-making. This is particularly important in complex societal issues with a high diversity of legitimate viewpoints – both, water and biodiversity issues often constitute such complex issues. While decision tools are increasingly used in environmental decision making at different spatial levels in Europe, there is a need for the improvement of these tools for use in conjunction with participatory processes in multi-level governance.
It is particularly important to enhance the understanding of the suitability of particular methods for the cases at hand – a task, which places emphasis on the contextualisation of the choice of a method instead of on the differences between the methods themselves. GoverNat develops decision tools particularly for use in conjunction with participatory processes of multi-level environmental governance and elaborate procedures for selecting tools that are suitable for the task at hand.
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