Introduction
Water resources systems are complex and encompass a variety of competing technical, ecological, economic, and social dimensions. Often experts and stakeholders do not fully understand or cannot agree upon the reasons why water-related challenges occur, let alone upon the actions that should be taken to adapt to or mitigate their impacts. Deltares’ collaborative modelling approaches offer an effective means by which to address and resolve these knowledge- and values-based conflicts between experts, water users, stakeholders and decision makers. They consist of interactive and iterative processes for decision support that combine stakeholder engagement with analytical modelling, visualisation and communication tools.
The acceptance of water-related strategic plans and policies by national and local authorities are critical enabling preconditions for sustainable development. Conflict between stakeholders can generate opposition to these plans and lead to their rejection. Deltares seeks to resolve these conflicts by engaging stakeholders in joint analytical modelling activities to test and assess the performance of water resources systems under a variety of policy options. The benefits of our collaborative modelling approaches include :
• Increased acceptance and ownership over developed plans and strategies
• Improved system understanding and model performance through the incorporation of shared multi-sector and local knowledge
• Increased transparency of both modelling and decision-making processes
• Improved consensus relating to system function and preferred strategies
• Improved stakeholder relations, by opening channels of communication, generating mutual understanding and negotiating compromise solutions.
Collaborative Modelling for Decision Support
Collaborative modelling emphasises the importance of involving stakeholders in modelling processes that inform and support decision making. Where relevant to the problem context, Deltares engages project stakeholders in their activities to develop the necessary analytical modelling, visualisation and communication tools: data collection, model definition, model construction, model validation and verification. Deltares also seek to involve stakeholders in the application of these models to assess impacts of various measures and strategies. Stakeholder involvement in these activities is characterised by high levels of participation, influence and control over the developed product or plan. The collaborative modelling processes employed are designed to create the necessary cooperative environments to facilitate the joint formation of negotiated solutions
