Keywords
sustainability impact assessment, meta-modelling, siat, scenarios, simulation
Start Date
1-7-2008 12:00 AM
Abstract
The SENSOR project aims at delivering ex-ante Sustainability Impact Assessment Tools (SIAT) to support decision making on policies related to multifunctional land use in European regions. Decision support tools are required that provide scientifically substantiated anticipations of the effects of future policy options on sustainability issues. SENSOR responds to these information needs at European land use policy level with the SIAT, which is interactively designed with end users (Helming et al. 2008). This paper illustrates the design process of the SIAT under the concurrent condition of a high usability for end users. To meet this goal, end user involvements by using techniques of software prototyping is applied. Impact Assessment (IA) is an important instrument towards the fulfilment of the European Sustainable Development Strategy (EC 2001). This obligatory process has to be undertaken before decisions on policy proposals at European level are made (EC 2005). The European Commission provided in the European IA Guidelines detailed methodological steps on the procedure of IA (EC 2005). SIAT covers the two methodological steps of (a) analysing policy options against the divergence to defined objectives and (b) comparing policy options among each other. IA procedures are prevalently supported by operational tools that are often restricted to precise, quantitative sector information. They focus mostly on single aspects of economic, social or environmental impacts and are mainly designed for ex-post analysis (Bartolomeo et al. 2004). Integrated and comprehensive questions are less answered (Tamborra 2002). SIAT intends to bridge this gap and thus focuses on impact assessment towards an integrated perspective. Region-explicit policy impacts are analysed across six sectors on economic, environmental and social indicators (Sieber et al. 2008, Verweij et al. 2006). The major challenge is the transformation of interdisciplinary knowledge into an adequate model-design that meets the end user requirements. At the same time high standards of technical performance and evident functionality should be ensured: In particular, (a) short response time, (b) maximum flexibility regarding re-useability of applying scenarios, (c) fast integration of new intended policies for impact analysis, (d) high compatibility of different calculation methods, (e) effectual reliability and plausibility of simulation results.The research question asks for a method to assure both, meeting the end user requirements as well as the above described standards. To meet these goals the method of software prototyping related to end user involvements is described in detail. Thus, the paper illustrates in chapter 2.1 the SIAT design and methodology, in chapter 2.2 the applied process of operational prototyping. Chapter 3 concludes in terms of so far achieved results.
Sustainability Impact Assessment Tools (SIAT) for Regionalised European Impact Analysis: Focusing on the design process
The SENSOR project aims at delivering ex-ante Sustainability Impact Assessment Tools (SIAT) to support decision making on policies related to multifunctional land use in European regions. Decision support tools are required that provide scientifically substantiated anticipations of the effects of future policy options on sustainability issues. SENSOR responds to these information needs at European land use policy level with the SIAT, which is interactively designed with end users (Helming et al. 2008). This paper illustrates the design process of the SIAT under the concurrent condition of a high usability for end users. To meet this goal, end user involvements by using techniques of software prototyping is applied. Impact Assessment (IA) is an important instrument towards the fulfilment of the European Sustainable Development Strategy (EC 2001). This obligatory process has to be undertaken before decisions on policy proposals at European level are made (EC 2005). The European Commission provided in the European IA Guidelines detailed methodological steps on the procedure of IA (EC 2005). SIAT covers the two methodological steps of (a) analysing policy options against the divergence to defined objectives and (b) comparing policy options among each other. IA procedures are prevalently supported by operational tools that are often restricted to precise, quantitative sector information. They focus mostly on single aspects of economic, social or environmental impacts and are mainly designed for ex-post analysis (Bartolomeo et al. 2004). Integrated and comprehensive questions are less answered (Tamborra 2002). SIAT intends to bridge this gap and thus focuses on impact assessment towards an integrated perspective. Region-explicit policy impacts are analysed across six sectors on economic, environmental and social indicators (Sieber et al. 2008, Verweij et al. 2006). The major challenge is the transformation of interdisciplinary knowledge into an adequate model-design that meets the end user requirements. At the same time high standards of technical performance and evident functionality should be ensured: In particular, (a) short response time, (b) maximum flexibility regarding re-useability of applying scenarios, (c) fast integration of new intended policies for impact analysis, (d) high compatibility of different calculation methods, (e) effectual reliability and plausibility of simulation results.The research question asks for a method to assure both, meeting the end user requirements as well as the above described standards. To meet these goals the method of software prototyping related to end user involvements is described in detail. Thus, the paper illustrates in chapter 2.1 the SIAT design and methodology, in chapter 2.2 the applied process of operational prototyping. Chapter 3 concludes in terms of so far achieved results.
