VASK: Water as a systematic link for regional planning

Important results from the project

The project has combined foresight methodology with qualitative system dynamics group modeling to create a vision of a desired future state, deepen the understanding of the current system, and identify leverage points for change. The aim was to lay the foundation for the development of decision-support tools for water resource planning at inter-municipal and regional levels, and contribute to more system-oriented water resource management, as well as facilitate the handling of goal conflicts.

Expected long term effects

The project has contributed to increased competence and capacity building by qualitatively demonstrating how systems thinking can be operationalized in inter-municipal and regional planning. It has also provided valuable insights into needs for the design of decision-support tools. The results are expected to be further developed in follow-up projects aimed at creating quantitative decision-support tools that can be used in real-time meetings, supporting more system-oriented decision making.

Approach and implementation

Stakeholder mapping to identify relevant actors for each challenge Foresight workshop with scenario development and backcasting methodology System mapping workshops using group modeling to illustrate cause-effect relationships Synthesis workshop to connect insights and identify development needs Challenges:Short time between decision and project start, combined with many public holidays in spring made it difficult to schedule meetings.Application work during the summer period was also not ideal.