The purpose of the workshop was to share and discuss scientific methods to integrate decision problems into research. An ambition was to create contact points between BECC projects working with multi-criteria decision making and stimulate methodological discussions.

Presentations covered scientific methods of

• Formulating and solving a multi-criteria decision problem
• Engaging stakeholders in research projects
• Obtaining data from stakeholders

Video

Click to see (most) talks from the workshop

Presentations and talks

• The interface between science and stakeholder interactions, Anna-Maria Jönsson, Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University
  Find Anna-Marias presentation here (pdf)
   
• The science of Multi-Criteria Decision analysis, Ullrika Sahlin, Centre of Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University
  Find Ullrikas presentation here (pdf)
   
• The Role of Stakeholder Participation and Group Modelling in Developing Decision Support Tools, Deniz Koca, Lund University Centre of Environmental and Climate Research
  Find Deniz presentation here (pdf)
   
• Methods to measure stakeholder’s preferences, Stina Alriksson, Linneaus University
  Find Stinas presentation here
   
• Integrating stakeholders in adaptation research - a case study of the Swedish forestry sector’s decision-making in a changing climate, Susanna Bruzell, Programme Manager Mistra-SWECIA, Centre of Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University
   
• What does science say about how and why to interact with stakeholders in research projects, Johanna Alkan-Olsson, Centre of Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University
  Find Johannas presentation here (pdf)
   
• How we teach decision making in a netbased course in environmental science, Nils Cronberg, Department of Biology, Lund University
  Find Nils presentation here
   
• Adapting to an uncertain climate - lessons from practice - the CIRCLE-2 findings from Europe, Carin Nilsson, Centre of Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University
  Find Carins presentation here

Background

Many research projects at BECC have the aim to give support to environmental management and policy advice. Environmental decision problems are often complex lead to a need to make tradeoffs between multiple objectives and values and to actively involve stakeholders in the knowledge generating process. Addressing decision making related research questions requires a partially different methodological framework compared to addressing traditional research questions.

An enhanced awareness of state-of-the-art methods to integrate multi-criteria decision making into scientific problems may benefit research projects at BECC. First, by possibly avoiding conflicts between the focus on “basic” and “applied” type of research problems. Second, by acknowledging this as an existing methodological framework and building a shared competence and experience of scientific principles to address complex decision problems.