1. PARTICIPATORY METHODS IN IA
FIRMA Review workshop
Barcelona
March

2. STRUCTURE PRESENTATION
History
Definition concepts
Participatory methods in general
Experiences with participatory methods in IA
Insights for FIRMA

3. PARTICIPATION IN IA IA can be described as:
Interdisciplinary and participatory process of gathering, combining, interpreting, communicating, knowledge from different scientific disciplines and knowledge domains to allow a better understanding of complex phenomena
In IA analytical and participatory methods are used

4. HISTORY PARTICIPATION IN IA
Until mid nineties: Modeling as the way to IA
In the course of the nineties: it became acknowledged that social scientific methods (including participatory methods) enrich IA

5. HISTORY PARTICIPATION IN GENERAL
1930s: Social scientists start investigating alternatives to interviewing
World War II: First examples of ‘focus groups’
Focus groups used in market research to gain insight in consumers’ thinking
1960s: Social scientists start investigating participation with respect to policy and decision-making; aimed at empowering people
Recent years: Focus on gaining support for decisions, and enriching assessments with lay-knowledge and opinions, inspired by social-constructivism, post-modernism and post-normal science

6. DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS (1)
Participants
Participants are those directly or indirectly involved in, affected by, knowledgeable of or have relevant expertise on the issue at stake
Five categories of participants in assessment processes aiming at public policy making:
Government
Citizens
Interest groups
Business
Scientific experts

7. DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS (2)
Participatory methods
Participatory methods are methods to structure group processes in which non-experts play an active role and articulate their knowledge, values and preferences for different goals.

8. AIMS OF PARTICIPATION
Mapping out diversity: to uncover a spectrum of options and information
- making tacit knowledge explicit
- test alternative strategies in a permissive environment
Reaching consensus: to define a single option or decision
Advising: to inform the process of decision-making
Democratisation: to employ knowledge of people to create options for tackling (policy) issues that directly concern them. The ideas and opinions of the people involved weigh in the follow-up process

9. PARTICIPATORY PROCESS
A participatory process is not only a proces…..
..but also information gathering and evaluation by:
Observing
Making minutes
Video- and audiotaping
Writing transcripts ….

10. TYPOLOGY OF METHODS Mapping out diversity Policy Exercises
Focus Groups
Scenario analysis
Participatory modeling
Dialogue methods
Democratisation
Advising
Citizens’ Juries
Participatory Planning
Consensus Conferences
Reaching consensus

11. FOCUS GROUPS
Definition: A planned discussion among a group (4-12 participants) to obtain information about preferences and opinions
Goal: Uncover diverse information about values and preferences and why they are held about a certain defined issue by observing the structured discussion of the group
Issue: exploratory research
Tools: focussed questions (sometimes supported by computers)

12. SCENARIO LEARNING
Definition: A process engaging a group that identifies, creates and explores scenarios with a view to learning about the external environment and/or integrating the insights into the decisionmaking of the organisation
Goal: explore the range of available choices involved in preparing for the future, test how well those choices would succeed in various possible futures and prepare a rough timetable for future events.
Issue: complex issues whose futures are shrouded in uncertainty
Tools: brainstorming, story line approach, predefined scenario’s

13. POLICY EXERCISES
Definition: Creative process in a gaming atmosphere employing a variety of methods such as models
Goal: integration of knowledge from various sources to explore alternative future developments and evaluate new policy ideas in order to obtain a better structured view of complex problems.
Issue: when issues or values at stake are ill understood, ambiguous or contested
Tools: For example models

14. CITIZENS’ JURIES
Definition: Group of randomly selected people (microcosm of their community) who follow a process of informed deliberation based on information from several perspectives and make public their conclusions on a specific (policy) issue
Goal: Incorporate knowledge of the type that is usually absent in decision-making processes
Issue: Where a selection needs to be made from a limited number of choices
Tools: Question and answer sessions between jurors (the citizens) and witnesses (experts)

15. CONCENSUS CONFERENCES
Definition: Lay people confront experts with questions concerning a specific topic, and then negotiate a consensus statement about their expectations, concerns and recommendations.
Goal: To broaden the debate on issues of science and technology by including the viewpoints of non-experts.
Issue: Socially controversial science or technology issues on a national scale level, which need expert clarification
Tools: 8-10 key questions, answered by experts in short presentations, question and answer sessions

16. PARTICIPATORY PLANNING
Definition: Enables groups of participants to influence and share control over development initiatives and decisions which affect them.
Goal: Promoting knowledge sharing, building commitment to the process, and empowering people to develop strategies
Issue: A wide variety of development problems
Tools: for example symbolic representations to overcome language difficulties,

17. DIALOGUE METHODS
Definition: dialogues between analysts and intended users where users serve as co-designer or test-group
Goal: to extract essential information from the intended users
Issue: where the intended users are considered as a source of knowledge beyond behaviour and preferences necessary for the analysts to perform the assessment
Tools: continuous dialogues (intended users have the role of co-designer) and user-platforms (participants serving as a test-group)

18. PARTICIPATORY MODELING
See Holling and Costanza: Adaptive Ecological Modeling
See Geurts and Vennix
for example Group Model Building
Goal of GMB: - improving the model building process
- eliciting implicit knowledge

19. PARTICIPATION IN IA
Aims
To facilitate mutual learning by establishing a communication process between scientists and non-scientists
FIRMA
To formulate relevant societal questions for the IA research agenda
To enrich the assessment with the knowledge, values, preferences, judgements and perspectives of non-scientists
To create commitment, ownership, legitimacy and support for the outcome of the assessment and to come to policy recommendations

20. PARTICIPATION IN IA PROJECTS
RAINS (Regional air pollution information and simulation model)
(IIASA 1983)
MacKenzie Basin Impact study (SDRI, )
Image/Delft process ( )
QUEST (Quite useful ecosystem and scenario tool) (SDRI, )
ULYSSES (Urban lifestyles sustainability, and integrated environmental assessment) (Darmstadt University of Technology, )
VISIONS (Integrated Visions for a sustainable Europe) (ICIS, )
COOL (Climate options for the long term) ( )

21. PARTICIPATORY METHODS IN IA PROJECTS

22. DIFFERENT METHODS AND IA PROJECTS

23. EXAMPLE OF IA PROJECT: VISIONS
DGXII Fourth framework programme, environment and climate
Aim: to create a set of alternative scenarios for future sustainable development paths up to 2020 and 2050
For Europe as a whole and for three regions in Europe:
North-West UK
Venice, Italy
Green Heart, Netherlands

24. Participatory element
METHODOLOGY
Participatory element
Analytical tools
Mutual learning / gaming
Northwest-UK
Model-supported
REGIONS
Interactive mutual learning
Data-based and
EUROPE
WORLD
Expert group
Data collection &
Trend analyses
Green Heart
Model-suuported
Tensions group
Transitions,
Cultural Theory &
Models
Venice
Mutual learning and interviews
Narrative & ICT tools

25. EUROPEAN SCENARIOS First workshop goal: development of storylines
2 consecutive days
25 participants (broad selecton: representatives from policy, business, NGOs, science, free thinkers and so on)

26. METHODOLOGY Expert input on the issues and topics for the workshop
Brainstorming on related issues
Identifying key variables from the outcome of the brainstorm
Developing storylines based on the key variables
Iterative enrichment of the storylines

27. OUTPUT & FOLLOW-UP Workshop output: 10 Storylines
After the workshop: storylines were built into 3 scenarios by scientists
Two follow-up workshops with stakeholders: reflection on scenarios
Expert meeting: reflection on scenarios

28. EXAMPLE OF STORYLINE
2008: EU reaches Kyoto targets
2010: Gulf stream reverses
2020: Mass migration because of climate change
2025: Energy need/use increases
2030: Social conflicts
EU government and economy collapses
2040: Quality of life deteriorates

29. The European Scenarios
‘Knowledge is King’
‘Big is Beautiful?’
‘Convulsive Change’

30. Example: Temperatures rise in CC

31. Example: Forever young in KIK

32. INSIGHTS FOR FIRMA (1)
Before starting participatory process always analyse the goal of the process in terms of desirable output (goal of the process), and needed input
Needed input: participants
process design
INPUT
OUTPUT

33. PARTICIPANTS CHECKLIST
Recruitment
Number of participants (also depends on available financial budget
and time)
Profile of participants (mainly depends on central issue)
Tasks of the participants
Payments and contracts
...

34. PROCESS DESIGN CHECKLIST
Duration
Program in time
Supporting material (models for example)
Facilitation (passive / active)
Data collection
Material produced ...

35. CONCLUSION Participation in IA is not a ‘just do it process’
but a process
that asks
for
social scientific knowledge and craftmenship

36. INSIGHTS FOR FIRMA
The use of participatory methods in IA is still in its infancy
Active communication on experiences with participatory methods in IA is necessary
If documented and evaluated well FIRMA can have added value to the development process of the use of participatory methods in Integrated Assessment
See also: workshop on participation in COOL and VISIONS (probably be organised in February 2002)