A Concept for Testing Decision Support Tools in Participatory Processes Applied to the ToSIA Tool

Challenges

Diana Tuomasjukka¹  Marcus Lindner¹ 

[1] European Forest Institute, Torikatu 34, 80100 Joensuu, Finland; E-Mail:

关键词: ToSIA (Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment);    pDSS (participatory Decision Support System);    decision defence;    stakeholder interaction;    participatory process;    science-policy interface;   

DOI  :  10.3390/challe4010034

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

ToSIA (Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment) offers a transparent and consistent methodological framework to assess impacts of changes (technological, policy, management, etc.) in the forest-based sector. This tool is able to facilitate the decision making process within and between diverse groups of stakeholders (e.g., forest managers and policymakers) as it provides a neutral, transparent and data-driven platform for stakeholder interaction and communication. To test these capabilities of ToSIA, a practical approach to test if a decision support system is suitable for participatory processes was developed based on a set of evaluation criteria for participatory processes. ToSIA’s performance was assessed and discussed in different categories against a selection of criteria for successful participatory processes: six criteria were fulfilled by ToSIA, in nine, ToSIA is potentially helpful, in two, criteria ToSIA has no influence, and for three criteria, no experiences exist until now. As a result, ToSIA’s conceptual suitability as a participatory decision support system was confirmed for two interlinked roles: as a decision support system to assess alternative scenarios, and as a communication platform for stakeholder interaction.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.