Weighting and aggregation of indicators for sustainability impact assessment in the SENSOR context

In response to the need for developing methods for evaluating multidimensional problems in sustainability assessment, the scientific literature provides many examples related to the theory and use of composite indicators. In the context of the SENSOR project, dealing with the ex-ante assessment of environmental, social and economic impacts of European policies on multifunctional land use, new constraints and dimensions are added to the exercise. Examples are the need for consistency across European regions and across different scales of analysis; the use of qualitative and quantitative information; the possibility of aggregation to different administrative levels (sensitive areas, Member States, cluster regions, EU); and the correct balancing of the sustainability dimensions.

[1]  Giuseppe Munda,et al.  Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis and Sustainable Development , 2005 .

[2]  A. L. Edwards,et al.  An introduction to linear regression and correlation. , 1985 .

[3]  Yun Peng,et al.  A Bayesian network based framework for multi-criteria decision making , 2004 .

[4]  C. Pacini,et al.  Evaluation of sustainability of organic, integrated and conventional farming systems: a farm and field-scale analysis , 2003 .

[5]  R. Brouwer,et al.  Integrated ecological, economic and social impact assessment of alternative flood control policies in the Netherlands , 2004 .

[6]  A. S. Milani,et al.  Using different ELECTRE methods in strategic planning in the presence of human behavioral resistance , 2006, Adv. Decis. Sci..

[7]  Norman E. Fenton,et al.  Making decisions: using Bayesian nets and MCDA , 2001, Knowl. Based Syst..

[8]  Katharina Helming,et al.  Transfer into decision support: The Sustainability Impact Assessment Tool (SIAT) , 2008 .

[9]  Bernard Roy,et al.  Aide multicritère à la décision : méthodes et cas , 1993 .

[10]  M. Pérez-Soba,et al.  Sustainability Impact Assessment of land use policies , 2008 .

[11]  Giuseppe Munda,et al.  Noncompensatory/nonlinear composite indicators for ranking countries: a defensible setting , 2009 .

[12]  F. H. Barron,et al.  SMARTS and SMARTER: Improved Simple Methods for Multiattribute Utility Measurement , 1994 .

[13]  G. Munda.  Social multi-criteria evaluation for urban sustainability policies , 2006 .

[14]  G. Munda.  “Measuring Sustainability”: A Multi-Criterion Framework , 2005 .

[15]  Caspar A. Mücher,et al.  A climatic stratification of the environment of Europe , 2005 .

[16]  L. J. Savage,et al.  The Foundations of Statistics , 1955 .

[17]  Stefano Tarantola,et al.  Handbook on Constructing Composite Indicators: Methodology and User Guide , 2005 .

[18]  Andranik Tangian,et al.  Analysis of the third European survey on working conditions with composite indicators , 2007, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[19]  Berit Hasler,et al.  Limits and targets for a regional sustainability assessment: an interdisciplinary exploration of the threshold concept , 2008 .

[20]  Katharina Helming,et al.  Land use functions — a multifunctionality approach to assess the impact of land use changes on land use sustainability , 2008 .

[21]  Pia Frederiksen,et al.  An indicator framework for analysing sustainability impacts of land use change , 2008 .

[22]  Giuseppe Munda,et al.  Social multi-criteria evaluation: Methodological foundations and operational consequences , 2004, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[23]  Onno Kuik,et al.  In search of indicators of sustainable development , 1991 .

[24]  Caspar A. Mücher,et al.  A Spatial Regional Reference Framework for Sustainability Assessment in Europe , 2008 .

[25]  Laurens Cherchye,et al.  An Introduction to ‘Benefit of the Doubt’ Composite Indicators , 2007 .

[26]  J. Neumann,et al.  Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. , 1945 .

[27]  Hans-Jürgen Zimmermann,et al.  Multi-Criteria Analyse , 1991 .

[28]  P J Bacon,et al.  Belief network models of land manager decisions and land use change. , 2002, Journal of environmental management.

[29]  C. Lovell,et al.  One Market, One Number? A Composite Indicator Assessment of EU Internal Market Dynamics , 2005 .

[30]  L. Braat.  The predictive meaning of sustainability indicators , 1991 .

[31]  Robert Gillespie.  MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS: A CRITIQUE FROM AN ECONOMIST'S PERSPECTIVE , 2001 .

[32]  R. L. Keeney,et al.  Decisions with Multiple Objectives: Preferences and Value Trade-Offs , 1977, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[33]  J E Hardison,et al.  Benefit of the doubt. , 1985, The American journal of medicine.

[34]  Sangmok Kang.  A sensitivity analysis of the Korean composite environmental index , 2002 .

[35]  S. T. Buckland,et al.  An Introduction to the Bootstrap. , 1994 .

[36]  Ian Jeffreys.  The use of compensatory and non-compensatory multi-criteria analysis for small-scale forestry , 2004, Small-scale Forest Economics, Management and Policy.

[37]  Stefano Tarantola,et al.  Tools for Composite Indicators Building , 2005 .

[38]  Herry Purnomo,et al.  Guidelines for applying multi-criteria analysis to the assessment of criteria and indicators , 1999 .