This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Background: Environmental improvement is a priority for urban sustainability and health and achieving it requires transformative change in cities. An approach to achieving such change is to bring together researchers, decision-makers, and public groups in the creation of research and use of scientific evidence. Methods: This article describes the development of a programme theory for Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH), a four-year Wellcome-funded research collaboration which aims to improve capacity to guide transformational health and environmental changes in cities. Results: Drawing on ideas about complex systems, programme evaluation, and transdisciplinary learning, we describe how the programme is understood to “work” in terms of its anticipated processes and resulting changes. The programme theory describes a chain of outputs that ultimately leads to improvement in city sustainability and health (described in an ‘action model’), and the kinds of changes that we expect CUSSH should lead to in people, processes, policies, practices, and research (described in a ‘change model’). Conclusions: Our paper adds to a growing body of research on the process of developing a comprehensive understanding of a transdisciplinary, multiagency, multi-context programme. The programme theory was developed collaboratively over two years. It involved a participatory process to ensure that a broad range of perspectives were included, to contribute to shared understanding across a multidisciplinary team. Examining our approach allowed an appreciation of the benefits and challenges of developing a programme theory for a complex, transdisciplinary research collaboration. Benefits included the development of teamworking and shared understanding and the use of programme theory in guiding evaluation. Challenges included changing membership within a large group, reaching agreement on what the theory would be ‘about’, and the inherent unpredictability of complex initiatives.
Gemma Moore; Susan Michie; Jamie Anderson; Kristine Belesova; Melanie Crane; Clément Deloly; Sani Dimitroulopoulou; Hellen Gitau; Joanna Hale; Simon J. Lloyd; Blessing Mberu; Kanyiva Muindi; Yanlin Niu; Helen Pineo; Irene Pluchinotta; Aarathi Prasad; Anne Roue-Le Gall; Clive Shrubsole; Catalina Turcu; Ioanna Tsoulou; Paul Wilkinson; Ke Zhou; Nici Zimmermann; Michael Davies; David Osrin. Developing a programme theory for a transdisciplinary research collaboration: Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health. Wellcome Open Research 2021, 6, 35 .
AMA StyleGemma Moore, Susan Michie, Jamie Anderson, Kristine Belesova, Melanie Crane, Clément Deloly, Sani Dimitroulopoulou, Hellen Gitau, Joanna Hale, Simon J. Lloyd, Blessing Mberu, Kanyiva Muindi, Yanlin Niu, Helen Pineo, Irene Pluchinotta, Aarathi Prasad, Anne Roue-Le Gall, Clive Shrubsole, Catalina Turcu, Ioanna Tsoulou, Paul Wilkinson, Ke Zhou, Nici Zimmermann, Michael Davies, David Osrin. Developing a programme theory for a transdisciplinary research collaboration: Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health. Wellcome Open Research. 2021; 6 ():35.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGemma Moore; Susan Michie; Jamie Anderson; Kristine Belesova; Melanie Crane; Clément Deloly; Sani Dimitroulopoulou; Hellen Gitau; Joanna Hale; Simon J. Lloyd; Blessing Mberu; Kanyiva Muindi; Yanlin Niu; Helen Pineo; Irene Pluchinotta; Aarathi Prasad; Anne Roue-Le Gall; Clive Shrubsole; Catalina Turcu; Ioanna Tsoulou; Paul Wilkinson; Ke Zhou; Nici Zimmermann; Michael Davies; David Osrin. 2021. "Developing a programme theory for a transdisciplinary research collaboration: Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health." Wellcome Open Research 6, no. : 35.
The Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH) project is a global research programme on the complex systemic connections between urban development and health. Through transdisciplinary methods it will develop critical evidence on how to achieve the far-reaching transformation of cities needed to address vital environmental imperatives for planetary health in the 21st century. CUSSH’s core components include: (i) a review of evidence on the effects of climate actions (both mitigation and adaptation) and factors influencing their implementation in urban settings; (ii) the development and application of methods for tracking the progress of cities towards sustainability and health goals; (iii) the development and application of models to assess the impact on population health, health inequalities, socio-economic development and environmental parameters of urban development strategies, in order to support policy decisions; (iv) iterative in-depth engagements with stakeholders in partner cities in low-, middle- and high-income settings, using systems-based participatory methods, to test and support the implementation of the transformative changes needed to meet local and global health and sustainability objectives; (v) a programme of public engagement and capacity building. Through these steps, the programme will provide transferable evidence on how to accelerate actions essential to achieving population-level health and global climate goals through, amongst others, changing cities’ energy provision, transport infrastructure, green infrastructure, air quality, waste management and housing.
Michael Davies; Kristine Belesova; Melanie Crane; Joanna Hale; Andy Haines; Emma Hutchinson; Gregor Kiesewetter; Blessing Mberu; Nahid Mohajeri; Susan Michie; James Milner; Gemma Moore; David Osrin; Helen Pineo; Irene Pluchinotta; Aarathi Prasad; Giuseppe Salvia; Phil Symonds; Jonathon Taylor; Catalina Turcu; Ioanna Tsoulou; Nici Zimmermann; Paul Wilkinson. The CUSSH programme: learning how to support cities’ transformational change towards health and sustainability. Wellcome Open Research 2021, 6, 100 .
AMA StyleMichael Davies, Kristine Belesova, Melanie Crane, Joanna Hale, Andy Haines, Emma Hutchinson, Gregor Kiesewetter, Blessing Mberu, Nahid Mohajeri, Susan Michie, James Milner, Gemma Moore, David Osrin, Helen Pineo, Irene Pluchinotta, Aarathi Prasad, Giuseppe Salvia, Phil Symonds, Jonathon Taylor, Catalina Turcu, Ioanna Tsoulou, Nici Zimmermann, Paul Wilkinson. The CUSSH programme: learning how to support cities’ transformational change towards health and sustainability. Wellcome Open Research. 2021; 6 ():100.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMichael Davies; Kristine Belesova; Melanie Crane; Joanna Hale; Andy Haines; Emma Hutchinson; Gregor Kiesewetter; Blessing Mberu; Nahid Mohajeri; Susan Michie; James Milner; Gemma Moore; David Osrin; Helen Pineo; Irene Pluchinotta; Aarathi Prasad; Giuseppe Salvia; Phil Symonds; Jonathon Taylor; Catalina Turcu; Ioanna Tsoulou; Nici Zimmermann; Paul Wilkinson. 2021. "The CUSSH programme: learning how to support cities’ transformational change towards health and sustainability." Wellcome Open Research 6, no. : 100.
Background: Environmental improvement is a priority for urban sustainability and health and achieving it requires transformative change in cities. An approach to achieving such change is to bring together researchers, decision-makers, and public groups in the creation of research and use of scientific evidence. Methods: This article describes the development of a programme theory for Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH), a four-year Wellcome-funded research collaboration which aims to improve capacity to guide transformational health and environmental changes in cities. Results: Drawing on ideas about complex systems, programme evaluation, and transdisciplinary learning, we describe how the programme is understood to “work” in terms of its anticipated processes and resulting changes. The programme theory describes a chain of outputs that ultimately leads to improvement in city sustainability and health (described in an ‘action model’), and the kinds of changes that we expect CUSSH should lead to in people, processes, policies, practices, and research (described in a ‘change model’). Conclusions: Our paper adds to a growing body of research on the process of developing a comprehensive understanding of a transdisciplinary, multiagency, multi-context programme. The programme theory was developed collaboratively over two years. It involved a participatory process to ensure that a broad range of perspectives were included, to contribute to shared understanding across a multidisciplinary team. Examining our approach allowed an appreciation of the benefits and challenges of developing a programme theory for a complex, transdisciplinary research collaboration. Benefits included the development of teamworking and shared understanding and the use of programme theory in guiding evaluation. Challenges included changing membership within a large group, reaching agreement on what the theory would be ‘about’, and the inherent unpredictability of complex initiatives.
Gemma Moore; Susan Michie; Jamie Anderson; Kristine Belesova; Melanie Crane; Clément Deloly; Sani Dimitroulopoulou; Hellen Gitau; Joanna Hale; Simon J. Lloyd; Blessing Mberu; Kanyiva Muindi; Yanlin Niu; Helen Pineo; Irene Pluchinotta; Aarathi Prasad; Anne Roue-Le Gall; Clive Shrubsole; Catalina Turcu; Ioanna Tsoulou; Paul Wilkinson; Ke Zhou; Nici Zimmermann; Michael Davies; David Osrin. Developing a programme theory for a transdisciplinary research collaboration: Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health. Wellcome Open Research 2021, 6, 35 .
AMA StyleGemma Moore, Susan Michie, Jamie Anderson, Kristine Belesova, Melanie Crane, Clément Deloly, Sani Dimitroulopoulou, Hellen Gitau, Joanna Hale, Simon J. Lloyd, Blessing Mberu, Kanyiva Muindi, Yanlin Niu, Helen Pineo, Irene Pluchinotta, Aarathi Prasad, Anne Roue-Le Gall, Clive Shrubsole, Catalina Turcu, Ioanna Tsoulou, Paul Wilkinson, Ke Zhou, Nici Zimmermann, Michael Davies, David Osrin. Developing a programme theory for a transdisciplinary research collaboration: Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health. Wellcome Open Research. 2021; 6 ():35.
Chicago/Turabian StyleGemma Moore; Susan Michie; Jamie Anderson; Kristine Belesova; Melanie Crane; Clément Deloly; Sani Dimitroulopoulou; Hellen Gitau; Joanna Hale; Simon J. Lloyd; Blessing Mberu; Kanyiva Muindi; Yanlin Niu; Helen Pineo; Irene Pluchinotta; Aarathi Prasad; Anne Roue-Le Gall; Clive Shrubsole; Catalina Turcu; Ioanna Tsoulou; Paul Wilkinson; Ke Zhou; Nici Zimmermann; Michael Davies; David Osrin. 2021. "Developing a programme theory for a transdisciplinary research collaboration: Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health." Wellcome Open Research 6, no. : 35.
Growing urban populations, changes in rainfall patterns and ageing infrastructure represent significant challenges for urban water management (UWM). There is a critical need for research into how cities should adapt to become resilient to these impacts under uncertain futures. UWM challenges in the Ebbsfleet Garden City (UK) were investigated via a participatory process and potential sustainable solutions were explored using a System Dynamics Model (SDM). Collaborative development of the SDM by the Ebbsfleet Learning and Action Alliance developed stakeholders’ understanding of future UWM options and enabled a structured exploration of interdependencies within the current UWM system. Discussion by stakeholders resulted in a focus on potable water use and the development of the SDM to investigate how residential potable water consumption in the Ebbsfleet Garden City might be reduced through a range of interventions, e.g., socio-environmental and economic policy incentives. The SDM approach supports decision-making at a strategic, system-wide level, and facilitates exploration of the long-term consequences of alternative strategies, particularly those that are difficult to include in quantitative models. While an SDM can be developed by experts alone, building it collaboratively allows the process to benefit from local knowledge, resulting in a collective learning process and increased potential for adoption.
Irene Pluchinotta; Alessandro Pagano; Tudorel Vilcan; Sangaralingam Ahilan; Leon Kapetas; Shaun Maskrey; Vladimir Krivtsov; Colin Thorne; Emily O’Donnell. A participatory system dynamics model to investigate sustainable urban water management in Ebbsfleet Garden City. Sustainable Cities and Society 2021, 67, 102709 .
AMA StyleIrene Pluchinotta, Alessandro Pagano, Tudorel Vilcan, Sangaralingam Ahilan, Leon Kapetas, Shaun Maskrey, Vladimir Krivtsov, Colin Thorne, Emily O’Donnell. A participatory system dynamics model to investigate sustainable urban water management in Ebbsfleet Garden City. Sustainable Cities and Society. 2021; 67 ():102709.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrene Pluchinotta; Alessandro Pagano; Tudorel Vilcan; Sangaralingam Ahilan; Leon Kapetas; Shaun Maskrey; Vladimir Krivtsov; Colin Thorne; Emily O’Donnell. 2021. "A participatory system dynamics model to investigate sustainable urban water management in Ebbsfleet Garden City." Sustainable Cities and Society 67, no. : 102709.
In a modern pandemic outbreak, where collective threats require global strategies and local operational defence applications, data-driven solutions for infection tracing and forecasting epidemic trends are crucial to achieve sustainable and socially resilient cities. Indeed, the need for monitoring, containing, and mitigating the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has generated a great deal of interest in Digital Proximity Tracing Technology (DPTT) on smartphones, as well as their function and effectiveness and insights of population acceptance. This paper introduces and compares different Data-Driven Epidemic Intelligence Strategies (DDEIS) developed on DPTTs. It aims to clarify to what extent DDEIS could be effective and both technologically and socially suitable in reaching the objective of a swift return to normality for cities, guaranteeing public health safety and minimizing the risk of epidemic resurgence. It assesses key advantages and limits in supporting both individual decision-making and policy-making, considering the role of human behaviour. Specifically, an online survey carried out in Italy revealed user preferences for DPTTs and provided preliminary data for an SEIR (Susceptible–Exposed–Infectious–Recovered) epidemiological model. This was developed to evaluate the impact of DDEIS on COVID-19 spread dynamics, and results are presented together with an evaluation of potential drawbacks.
Dario Esposito; Giovanni Dipierro; Alberico Sonnessa; Stefania Santoro; Simona Pascazio; Irene Pluchinotta. Data-Driven Epidemic Intelligence Strategies Based on Digital Proximity Tracing Technologies in the Fight against COVID-19 in Cities. Sustainability 2021, 13, 644 .
AMA StyleDario Esposito, Giovanni Dipierro, Alberico Sonnessa, Stefania Santoro, Simona Pascazio, Irene Pluchinotta. Data-Driven Epidemic Intelligence Strategies Based on Digital Proximity Tracing Technologies in the Fight against COVID-19 in Cities. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (2):644.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDario Esposito; Giovanni Dipierro; Alberico Sonnessa; Stefania Santoro; Simona Pascazio; Irene Pluchinotta. 2021. "Data-Driven Epidemic Intelligence Strategies Based on Digital Proximity Tracing Technologies in the Fight against COVID-19 in Cities." Sustainability 13, no. 2: 644.
Evidence suggests that policies frequently fail due, on the one side, to a simplification of the uncertainty and complexity associated with stakeholders’ problem-understanding and, on the other side, due to the lack of methodologies for innovative generation of policy alternatives. This work describes a methodology based on the integration of Problem Structuring Methods and Concept-Knowledge Theory as a mean to transform ambiguity in problem-framing from a barrier to an enabling factor in collaborative settings. This methodology supports the generative design process for innovative and consensual policies. The methodology was implemented for a case of designing water management policy in the Republic of Cyprus.
Irene Pluchinotta; Raffaele Giordano; Dimitrios Zikos; Tobias Krueger; Alexis Tsoukiàs. Integrating Problem Structuring Methods And Concept-Knowledge Theory For An Advanced Policy Design: Lessons From A Case Study In Cyprus. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice 2020, 22, 626 -647.
AMA StyleIrene Pluchinotta, Raffaele Giordano, Dimitrios Zikos, Tobias Krueger, Alexis Tsoukiàs. Integrating Problem Structuring Methods And Concept-Knowledge Theory For An Advanced Policy Design: Lessons From A Case Study In Cyprus. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice. 2020; 22 (6):626-647.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrene Pluchinotta; Raffaele Giordano; Dimitrios Zikos; Tobias Krueger; Alexis Tsoukiàs. 2020. "Integrating Problem Structuring Methods And Concept-Knowledge Theory For An Advanced Policy Design: Lessons From A Case Study In Cyprus." Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice 22, no. 6: 626-647.
Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly recognized as a valid alternative to grey infrastructures - i.e. hard, human-engineered structures – as measures for reducing climate-related risks. Increasing evidences demonstrated that NBS can reduce risks to people and property as effectively as traditional grey infrastructures, but potentially offering many additional benefits, e.g. improving the natural habitat for wildlife, enhancing water and air quality, improving socio-cultural conditions of communities. The growing attention on the NBS, triggered an increasing interest in developing integrated and multi-disciplinary frameworks for assessing NBS effectiveness accounting for the co-benefits production. Starting from the analysis of the existing frameworks, this work claims for a more direct engagement of stakeholders – i.e. co-benefits beneficiaries – in developing NBS assessment framework. This work aims at demonstrating that differences in co-benefits perception and valuation might lead to trade-offs and, thus, to potential conflicts. An innovative methodology using a quasi-dynamic Fuzzy Cognitive Map approach based on multiple-time-steps was developed in order to assess NBS effectiveness, and to detect and analyze trade-offs among stakeholders due to differences in co-benefits perception. The developed methodology was implemented in the Lower Danube case study. The trade-off analysis among stakeholders shows that they are quite low in the short term. Most of the potential conflicts can be detected in the long term, involving mainly the stakeholders that assigned a high value to the agricultural productivity variable. The results demonstrated that accounting for the different stakeholders' perception of the co-benefits is key for reducing trade-offs and enhance NBS acceptability.
R. Giordano; Irene Pluchinotta; Alessandro Pagano; A. Scrieciu; F. Nanu. Enhancing nature-based solutions acceptance through stakeholders' engagement in co-benefits identification and trade-offs analysis. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 713, 136552 .
AMA StyleR. Giordano, Irene Pluchinotta, Alessandro Pagano, A. Scrieciu, F. Nanu. Enhancing nature-based solutions acceptance through stakeholders' engagement in co-benefits identification and trade-offs analysis. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 713 ():136552.
Chicago/Turabian StyleR. Giordano; Irene Pluchinotta; Alessandro Pagano; A. Scrieciu; F. Nanu. 2020. "Enhancing nature-based solutions acceptance through stakeholders' engagement in co-benefits identification and trade-offs analysis." Science of The Total Environment 713, no. : 136552.
There is an imperative worldwide need to identify effective approaches to deal with water-related risks, and mainly with increasingly frequent floods, as well as with severe droughts. Particularly, policyand decision-makers are trying to identify systemic strategies that, going beyond the mere risk reduction, should be capable to deal simultaneously with multiple challenges such as climate resilience, health and well-being, quality of life, thus providing additional benefits. In this direction, the contribution of Nature Based Solutions (NBS) is relevant, although their wider implementation is still hampered by several barriers, such as the uncertainty and lack of information on their long-term behavior and the difficulty of quantitatively valuing their multidimensional impacts. The activities described in the present paper, carried out within the EU funded project NAIAD, mainly aim at developing a participatory System Dynamic Model capable to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of NBS to deal with flood risks, while producing a multiplicity of co-benefits. The adoption of a participatory approach supported both to increase the available knowledge and the awareness about the potential of NBS and hybrid measures (e.g. a combination of NBS and socio-institutional ones). Specific reference is made to one of the demos of the NAIAD project, namely the Glinščica river case study (Slovenia).
Alessandro Pagano; Irene Pluchinotta; Polona Pengal; Blaž Cokan; Raffaele Giordano. Engaging stakeholders in the assessment of NBS effectiveness in flood risk reduction: A participatory System Dynamics Model for benefits and co-benefits evaluation. Science of The Total Environment 2019, 690, 543 -555.
AMA StyleAlessandro Pagano, Irene Pluchinotta, Polona Pengal, Blaž Cokan, Raffaele Giordano. Engaging stakeholders in the assessment of NBS effectiveness in flood risk reduction: A participatory System Dynamics Model for benefits and co-benefits evaluation. Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 690 ():543-555.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlessandro Pagano; Irene Pluchinotta; Polona Pengal; Blaž Cokan; Raffaele Giordano. 2019. "Engaging stakeholders in the assessment of NBS effectiveness in flood risk reduction: A participatory System Dynamics Model for benefits and co-benefits evaluation." Science of The Total Environment 690, no. : 543-555.
There is a mounting international interest about how to address the implications of climate change for urban areas. The availability and sharing of “good” knowledge and information is a key prerequisite for a successful planning in cities. Urban planning for adaptation is largely considered as a collective process. This raises the importance of the availability/usability of proper “planner/user friendly” interfaces to interpret and translate the available information into adaptation decisions, and to facilitate the information sharing and collaborative decision making within the interaction network in which the different actors are embedded. Nevertheless, collaborative planning is far from being the standard in urban adaptation. The activities carried out in EU-MACS aimed at detecting and analysing the main barriers hampering the process. To this aim, Problem Structuring Methods and Social Network Analysis were implemented. The evidences collected in an urban case study – i.e. Helsinki – demonstrated that ambiguity in problem understanding and information needs, and missing connections in the mechanisms of interaction among actors-resources-tasks could hamper the effectiveness of collaborative planning and create inefficient flow between information production and decision process. Starting from these premises, and referring to the results of an extensive literature review about existing tools, our research aimed at facilitating the use of climate services to enable the collective decision-making process.
Raffaele Giordano; Karoliina Pilli-Sihvola; Irene Pluchinotta; Raffaella Matarrese; Adriaan Perrels. Urban adaptation to climate change: Climate services for supporting collaborative planning. Climate Services 2019, 17, 100100 .
AMA StyleRaffaele Giordano, Karoliina Pilli-Sihvola, Irene Pluchinotta, Raffaella Matarrese, Adriaan Perrels. Urban adaptation to climate change: Climate services for supporting collaborative planning. Climate Services. 2019; 17 ():100100.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRaffaele Giordano; Karoliina Pilli-Sihvola; Irene Pluchinotta; Raffaella Matarrese; Adriaan Perrels. 2019. "Urban adaptation to climate change: Climate services for supporting collaborative planning." Climate Services 17, no. : 100100.
Literature about public decision making experiences, including stakeholders’ engagement, offers best practices but also reports of unsuccessful case studies. Meaningful participation activities require direct integration of stakeholders into all the phases of the public decision process to unleash innovation. Often, policy making incorporates participation late in the process, after the problem definition has occurred, alternatives have been defined, without considering stakeholders’ knowledge and problem understanding. The early stage of policy alternatives design is essential to the development of policy. Our research presents an extensive literature review with respect to policy design and design theory in order to show that the formal process of generation of alternatives has been little investigated. There is a demand for methodologies aiming at supporting policy makers and relevant stakeholders during policy design. In this regard, this paper introduces (and explores) the operational role of design theory in the policy making process for the generation of policy alternatives. Design thinking, as a way to inform a collective problem definition leading to innovation, highlights the value of early stakeholders’ engagement. The aim of this paper is to understand, from an operational point of view, what “design” means in a policy making context, developing an innovative approach for assisting the formalization of policy design. The paper uses the results of a pilot case study to illustrate the application of the Concepts–Knowledge (C-K) theory framework to support the innovative design of policy alternatives for the groundwater protection policy of the Apulia Region (southern Italy).
Irene Pluchinotta; Akin O. Kazakçi; Raffaele Giordano; Alexis Tsoukiàs. Design Theory for Generating Alternatives in Public Decision Making Processes. Group Decision and Negotiation 2019, 28, 341 -375.
AMA StyleIrene Pluchinotta, Akin O. Kazakçi, Raffaele Giordano, Alexis Tsoukiàs. Design Theory for Generating Alternatives in Public Decision Making Processes. Group Decision and Negotiation. 2019; 28 (2):341-375.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrene Pluchinotta; Akin O. Kazakçi; Raffaele Giordano; Alexis Tsoukiàs. 2019. "Design Theory for Generating Alternatives in Public Decision Making Processes." Group Decision and Negotiation 28, no. 2: 341-375.
Dealing with urban policies involves the coordination of multiple stakeholders Understanding stakeholders’ problem formulations has become a crucial research subject This paper explores possible environmental knowledge management approaches This work investigates the potentials of the FCM approach for knowledge sharing in urban planning This work carried out a scenario building activity for the new master plan of Taranto (Italy)
Irene Pluchinotta; Dario Esposito; Domenico Camarda. Fuzzy cognitive mapping to support multi-agent decisions in development of urban policymaking. Sustainable Cities and Society 2018, 46, 101402 .
AMA StyleIrene Pluchinotta, Dario Esposito, Domenico Camarda. Fuzzy cognitive mapping to support multi-agent decisions in development of urban policymaking. Sustainable Cities and Society. 2018; 46 ():101402.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrene Pluchinotta; Dario Esposito; Domenico Camarda. 2018. "Fuzzy cognitive mapping to support multi-agent decisions in development of urban policymaking." Sustainable Cities and Society 46, no. : 101402.
Evidences from flood risk management demonstrated that a deep understanding of the main physical phenomena to be addressed is often not enough but should be also integrated with stakeholders' knowledge and risk perception. Particularly, the effectiveness of flood risk management strategies is highly dependent on stakeholders' perception and attitudes, which play a critical role on how individuals and institutions act to mitigate risks. Furthermore, practitioners and policy-makers realized that grey infrastructures may not be the most suitable solution to reduce flood risk, and that a shift from grey solutions to Nature Based Solutions is required. Within this framework, the present work describes a methodology to enhance the Nature Based Solutions implementation by facilitating the generation, acquisition and diffusion of different stakeholders' risk perceptions. It is based on the combination of Problem Structuring Methods for the elicitation of stakeholders' risk perceptions through individual Fuzzy Cognitive Maps, and Ambiguity Analysis for the investigation of differences in risk perceptions and problem framing. The outputs of the Ambiguity Analysis, used during a participatory workshop, facilitated a dialogue aligning the divergences and promoting the social acceptance of Nature Based Solutions. These results of the implementation of this multi-step methodology in the Glinščica river basin (Slovenia) are discussed.
Stefania Santoro; Irene Pluchinotta; Alessandro Pagano; Polona Pengal; Blaž Cokan; Raffaele Giordano. Assessing stakeholders' risk perception to promote Nature Based Solutions as flood protection strategies: The case of the Glinščica river (Slovenia). Science of The Total Environment 2018, 655, 188 -201.
AMA StyleStefania Santoro, Irene Pluchinotta, Alessandro Pagano, Polona Pengal, Blaž Cokan, Raffaele Giordano. Assessing stakeholders' risk perception to promote Nature Based Solutions as flood protection strategies: The case of the Glinščica river (Slovenia). Science of The Total Environment. 2018; 655 ():188-201.
Chicago/Turabian StyleStefania Santoro; Irene Pluchinotta; Alessandro Pagano; Polona Pengal; Blaž Cokan; Raffaele Giordano. 2018. "Assessing stakeholders' risk perception to promote Nature Based Solutions as flood protection strategies: The case of the Glinščica river (Slovenia)." Science of The Total Environment 655, no. : 188-201.
The design of alternatives is an essential part of decision making that has been less studied in theory and practice compared to alternatives’ evaluation. This topic is particularly relevant in the context of public policy making, where policy design represents a crucial step of the policy cycle since it determines the quality of the alternative policies being considered. This paper attempts to formalise the decision aiding process in two real interventions dealing with alternatives’ generation for territorial policy making in Italy. The aim of this research is to understand what generates novelty within the alternatives’ design phase of a decision aiding process, i.e. what allows to expand the solution space and discover new alternatives to solve the problem under consideration. It demonstrates ways in which novelty in decision processes can be supported by Operational Research/Multicriteria Decision Aiding tools. The two case studies are used to answer the following questions: (i) Why have new alternatives arose during the policy making process? (ii) How have they been generated? (iii) Which consequences did they lead to? and (iv) What generated novelty in the process? The results highlight two main reasons that can expand the solution space within a decision aiding process: (i) dissatisfaction (of the client, of the analyst or of the relevant stakeholders, especially when dealing with public policies) with respect to the solutions currently proposed to the decision making problem and (ii) opportunity for a change in one of the variables/constraints.
Valentina Ferretti; Irene Pluchinotta; Alexis Tsoukiàs. Studying the generation of alternatives in public policy making processes. European Journal of Operational Research 2018, 273, 353 -363.
AMA StyleValentina Ferretti, Irene Pluchinotta, Alexis Tsoukiàs. Studying the generation of alternatives in public policy making processes. European Journal of Operational Research. 2018; 273 (1):353-363.
Chicago/Turabian StyleValentina Ferretti; Irene Pluchinotta; Alexis Tsoukiàs. 2018. "Studying the generation of alternatives in public policy making processes." European Journal of Operational Research 273, no. 1: 353-363.
Water management is a controversial environmental policy issue, due to the heterogeneity of interests associated with a shared resource and the increasing level of conflict among water uses and users. Nowadays, there is a cumulative interest in enhancing multi-stakeholder decision-making processes, overtaking binding mercantile business, in water management domain. This requires the development of dynamic decision-aiding tools able to integrate the different problem frames held by the decision makers, to clarify the differences, to support the creation of collaborative decision-making processes and to provide shared platforms of interactions. In literature, these issues are faced by concepts such as Ostrom's action arena and Ostanello-Tsoukiàs’ interaction space (IS). The analysis of the interactions structure and of the different problem framing involved are fundamental premises for a successful debate for the management of a common-pool resource. Specifically, the present paper suggests a dynamic evolution of the IS, highlighting its criticalities. It develops an alternative perspective on the problem, using a System Dynamics Model (SDM), exploring how different actions can influence the decision-making processes of various stakeholders involved in the IS. The SDM has been implemented in a multi-stakeholders decision-making situation in order to support water management and groundwater protection in the agricultural systems in the Capitanata area (Apulia region, Southern Italy).
Irene Pluchinotta; Alessandro Pagano; Raffaele Giordano; Alexis Tsoukiàs. A system dynamics model for supporting decision-makers in irrigation water management. Journal of Environmental Management 2018, 223, 815 -824.
AMA StyleIrene Pluchinotta, Alessandro Pagano, Raffaele Giordano, Alexis Tsoukiàs. A system dynamics model for supporting decision-makers in irrigation water management. Journal of Environmental Management. 2018; 223 ():815-824.
Chicago/Turabian StyleIrene Pluchinotta; Alessandro Pagano; Raffaele Giordano; Alexis Tsoukiàs. 2018. "A system dynamics model for supporting decision-makers in irrigation water management." Journal of Environmental Management 223, no. : 815-824.
Cities are highly dynamic systems, whose resilience is affected by the interconnectedness between “hard” and “soft” infrastructures. “Hard infrastructures” are the functional networks with physical elements providing goods or services. “Soft infrastructures” (culture, governance, and social patterns) encompass the social networks, make the hard infrastructures work, and are vital for understanding the consequences of disasters and the effectiveness of emergency management. Although the dynamic interactions between such infrastructures are highly complex in the case of the occurrence of hazardous events, it is fundamental to analyze them. The reliability of hard infrastructures during emergency management contributes to keep alive the social capital, while the community, its networks, and its own resilience influence the service provided by infrastructural systems. Resilience-thinking frameworks overcome the limits of the traditional engineering-oriented approaches, accounting for complexity of socio-technical-organizational networks, bridging the static and dynamic components of disasters across pre- and postevent contexts. The present work develops an integrated approach to operatively assess resilience for the hard and soft infrastructural systems, aiming at modeling the complexity of their interaction by adopting a graph theory-based approach and social network analysis. The developed approach has been experimentally implemented for assessing the integrated resilience of the hard/soft infrastructures during the L’Aquila 2009 earthquake.
Alessandro Pagano; Irene Pluchinotta; Raffaele Giordano; Umberto Fratino. Integrating “Hard” and “Soft” Infrastructural Resilience Assessment for Water Distribution Systems. Complexity 2018, 2018, 1 -16.
AMA StyleAlessandro Pagano, Irene Pluchinotta, Raffaele Giordano, Umberto Fratino. Integrating “Hard” and “Soft” Infrastructural Resilience Assessment for Water Distribution Systems. Complexity. 2018; 2018 ():1-16.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlessandro Pagano; Irene Pluchinotta; Raffaele Giordano; Umberto Fratino. 2018. "Integrating “Hard” and “Soft” Infrastructural Resilience Assessment for Water Distribution Systems." Complexity 2018, no. : 1-16.
The availability and the quality of drinking water are key requirements for the well-being and the safety of a community, both in ordinary conditions and in case of disasters. Providing safe drinking water in emergency contributes to limit the intensity and the duration of crises, and is thus one of the main concerns for decision-makers, who operate under significant uncertainty. The present work proposes a Decision Support System for the emergency management of drinking water supply systems, integrating: i) a vulnerability assessment model based on Bayesian Belief Networks with the related uncertainty assessment model; ii) a model for impact, and related uncertainty assessment, based on Bayesian Belief Networks. The results of these models are jointly analyzed, providing decision-makers with a ranking of the priority of intervention. A GIS interface (G-Net) is developed to manage both input spatial information and results. The methodology is implemented in L’Aquila case study, discussing the potentialities associated to the use of the tool dealing with information and data uncertainty.
Alessandro Pagano; Irene Pluchinotta; Raffaele Giordano; Anna Bruna Petrangeli; Umberto Fratino; Michele Vurro. Dealing with Uncertainty in Decision-Making for Drinking Water Supply Systems Exposed to Extreme Events. Water Resources Management 2018, 32, 2131 -2145.
AMA StyleAlessandro Pagano, Irene Pluchinotta, Raffaele Giordano, Anna Bruna Petrangeli, Umberto Fratino, Michele Vurro. Dealing with Uncertainty in Decision-Making for Drinking Water Supply Systems Exposed to Extreme Events. Water Resources Management. 2018; 32 (6):2131-2145.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlessandro Pagano; Irene Pluchinotta; Raffaele Giordano; Anna Bruna Petrangeli; Umberto Fratino; Michele Vurro. 2018. "Dealing with Uncertainty in Decision-Making for Drinking Water Supply Systems Exposed to Extreme Events." Water Resources Management 32, no. 6: 2131-2145.
Raffaele Giordano; Alessandro Pagano; Irene Pluchinotta; Rosa Olivo del Amo; Sonia M. Hernandez; Eduardo S. Lafuente. Modelling the complexity of the network of interactions in flood emergency management: The Lorca flash flood case. Environmental Modelling & Software 2017, 95, 180 -195.
AMA StyleRaffaele Giordano, Alessandro Pagano, Irene Pluchinotta, Rosa Olivo del Amo, Sonia M. Hernandez, Eduardo S. Lafuente. Modelling the complexity of the network of interactions in flood emergency management: The Lorca flash flood case. Environmental Modelling & Software. 2017; 95 ():180-195.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRaffaele Giordano; Alessandro Pagano; Irene Pluchinotta; Rosa Olivo del Amo; Sonia M. Hernandez; Eduardo S. Lafuente. 2017. "Modelling the complexity of the network of interactions in flood emergency management: The Lorca flash flood case." Environmental Modelling & Software 95, no. : 180-195.
International audienceDisasters impacts on urban environment are the result of interactions among natural and human systems, which are intimately linked each other. What is more, cities are directly dependent on infrastructures providing essential services (Lifeline Systems, LS). The operation of LS in ordinary conditions as well as after disasters is crucial. Among the LS, drinking water supply deserves a critical role for citizens. The present work summarizes some preliminary activities related to an ongoing EU funded researchproject. The main aim of the paper is to define a System Dynamic Model (SDM) to assess the evolution of resilience of a drinking water supply system in case of natural disasters, with particular attention to the role of both ‘structural’ and ‘non-structural’ parameters. Reflections are carried out on L’Aquila (Italy) case study, since drinking water infrastructures were significantly stressed during the 2009 earthquake, causing a limited functionality in the aftermath of the event. Furthermore, the reallocation of citizens in temporary shelters determined a change in the demand pattern, requiring a dynamic adaptation of the infrastructure. Based on an innovative approach to resilience, the model was developed also to simulate different emergency management scenarios, corresponding to different disaster management strategies
Alessandro Pagano; Irene Pluchinotta; Raffaele Giordano; Michele Vurro. Drinking water supply in resilient cities: Notes from L’Aquila earthquake case study. Sustainable Cities and Society 2017, 28, 435 -449.
AMA StyleAlessandro Pagano, Irene Pluchinotta, Raffaele Giordano, Michele Vurro. Drinking water supply in resilient cities: Notes from L’Aquila earthquake case study. Sustainable Cities and Society. 2017; 28 ():435-449.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlessandro Pagano; Irene Pluchinotta; Raffaele Giordano; Michele Vurro. 2017. "Drinking water supply in resilient cities: Notes from L’Aquila earthquake case study." Sustainable Cities and Society 28, no. : 435-449.
Differences in problem framing and understanding are unavoidable in multi-actor decision-making processes, deeming ambiguous problem definitions and actions. The presence of ambiguity may have diverse implications. On the one hand, a diversity in frames can enhance the co-production of knowledge offering opportunities for innovative solutions. On the other hand, the presence of ambiguity can be a source of discrepancies or conflict in a group, hampering the implementation and/or reducing the effectiveness of environmental policy. This work demonstrates that neglecting ambiguity in problem framing leads decision-actors to simplify the interaction space by ignoring the role of some of the other decision-actors and/or making wrong assumptions about their mental models. Moreover, they act as if the system is as simple as the decision-actors presume it to be. To demonstrate these hypotheses, a Causal Loop Diagram method was implemented to investigate the policy resistance mechanisms hampering the implementation of sustainable groundwater abstraction policy in the Apulia Region (Southern Italy).
Raffaele Giordano; Marcela Brugnach; Irene Pluchinotta. Ambiguity in Problem Framing as a Barrier to Collective Actions: Some Hints from Groundwater Protection Policy in the Apulia Region. Group Decision and Negotiation 2016, 26, 911 -932.
AMA StyleRaffaele Giordano, Marcela Brugnach, Irene Pluchinotta. Ambiguity in Problem Framing as a Barrier to Collective Actions: Some Hints from Groundwater Protection Policy in the Apulia Region. Group Decision and Negotiation. 2016; 26 (5):911-932.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRaffaele Giordano; Marcela Brugnach; Irene Pluchinotta. 2016. "Ambiguity in Problem Framing as a Barrier to Collective Actions: Some Hints from Groundwater Protection Policy in the Apulia Region." Group Decision and Negotiation 26, no. 5: 911-932.
The inherently complex nature of the environmental domain requires that planning efforts become projects of participated, inclusive, multi-agent, multi-source knowledge building processes developed by the community. Knowledge is often hard to be processed, handled, formalized, modeled. Yet cognitive models are useful to avoid the typical unmanageability of domains with high complexity such as the environmental one, and enhance knowledge organization and management. We have investigated on the potentials of cognitive-mapping-based tools, particularly on cross impact evaluations, in the case study of Taranto (Italy). The process was aimed at building up future development scenarios in city neighborhoods, and fuzzy cognitive mapping were used to support decision-making by exploring cross impacts of possible policy perspectives. Although substantial results are rather general, the study proves to be interesting in enhancing the potentials of FCM-based approach to support decisionmaking, particularly when dealing with well-focused policy perspectives.
Dino Borri; Domenico Camarda; I. Pluchinotta; D. Esposito. Supporting Environmental Planning: Knowledge Management Through Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping. Transactions on Petri Nets and Other Models of Concurrency XV 2015, 9320, 228 -235.
AMA StyleDino Borri, Domenico Camarda, I. Pluchinotta, D. Esposito. Supporting Environmental Planning: Knowledge Management Through Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping. Transactions on Petri Nets and Other Models of Concurrency XV. 2015; 9320 ():228-235.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDino Borri; Domenico Camarda; I. Pluchinotta; D. Esposito. 2015. "Supporting Environmental Planning: Knowledge Management Through Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping." Transactions on Petri Nets and Other Models of Concurrency XV 9320, no. : 228-235.