Enhancing public participation in natural resource management using Soft OR--an application of strategic option development and analysis in tactical forest planning

Abstract This article presents a case study where a modified version of strategic option development and analysis (SODA) is applied to enhance the level of citizens’ participation in a strategic forest management planning process managed by the Danish Forest and Nature Agency. The case is interesting because of structural differences between traditional Soft OR and public participation settings. Research shows that SODA can nevertheless improve public involvement in several ways, including stakeholders’ perception of being involved, stakeholders’ commitment, structuring of the planning context, communication of stakeholder perspectives, identification and management of conflicts, decision process transparency, and agency accountability for final planning outcomes. The primary problems encountered relate to the difficulty of reading the cognitive maps, time requirements, and selection of facilitator. The general impression is that SODA can improve the present practice, and moreover provide a feasible platform for wider integration of stakeholder groups in the tactical planning process.

[1]  C. Huxham.  Creating Collaborative Advantage , 1997 .

[2]  E. Schein.  Organizational Culture and Leadership , 1991 .

[3]  H. Rittel,et al.  Dilemmas in a general theory of planning , 1973 .

[4]  C. Eden.  ON THE NATURE OF COGNITIVE MAPS , 1992 .

[5]  D. Kolb.  Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development , 1983 .

[6]  Peter Checkland,et al.  Systems Thinking, Systems Practice , 1981 .

[7]  R. Freeman.  Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach , 2010 .

[8]  L. Phillips.  A theory of requisite decision models , 1984 .

[9]  Leroy White,et al.  Partnership and Participation: Decision-Making in the Multiagency Setting , 2000 .

[10]  Dukes,et al.  Resolving Public Conflict: Transforming Community and Governance , 1996 .

[11]  Fran Ackermann,et al.  Issues in computer and non-computer supported GDSSs , 1994, Decis. Support Syst..

[12]  Peter Checkland,et al.  Soft Systems Methodology in Action , 1990 .

[13]  C. Huxham,et al.  Ambiguity, Complexity and Dynamics in the Membership of Collaboration , 2000 .

[14]  Henrik Meilby,et al.  Enhancing public participation in state forest management: a user council survey , 2000 .

[15]  M. Bazerman.  Judgment in Managerial Decision Making , 1990 .

[16]  N. Röling,et al.  Facilitating Sustainable Agriculture: Participatory Learning and Adaptive Management in Times of Environmental Uncertainty , 1999 .

[17]  C. Eden,et al.  The analysis of cause maps , 1992 .

[18]  J. Mingers,et al.  Rational analysis for a problematic world revisited : problem structuring methods for complexity, uncertainty and conflict , 1989 .

[19]  D. Buckles.  Cultivating Peace: Conflict and Collaboration in Natural Resource Management , 1999 .

[20]  R. Ramírez.  Stakeholder analysis and conflict management. , 1999 .

[21]  Robin Grimble,et al.  Stakeholder methodologies in natural resource management: a review of principles, contexts, experiences and opportunities , 1997 .

[22]  B. Gray.  Conditions Facilitating Interorganizational Collaboration , 1985 .

[23]  S. French.  Planning under Pressure: The Strategic Choice Approach , 1988 .

[24]  Colin Eden,et al.  Strategic thinking with computers , 1990 .

[25]  Sherry R. Amstein.  “A Ladder of Citizen Participation” , 1969 .

[26]  Linda S. Lotto.  Qualitative Data Analysis: A Sourcebook of New Methods , 1986 .

[27]  S. Daniels,et al.  Working Through Environmental Conflict: The Collaborative Learning Approach , 2001 .

[28]  S. Kvale.  Interviews : an introduction to qualitative research interviewing , 1996 .

[29]  R. Fisher,et al.  Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in , 1981 .

[30]  S. Schuman.  The Role of Facilitation in Collaborative Groups , 1999 .

[31]  C. S. Holling,et al.  Barriers and bridges to the renewal of ecosystems and institutions , 1997 .

[32]  Tony Hindle,et al.  Rational Analysis for a Problematic World , 1990 .

[33]  C. S. Holling.  Adaptive Environmental Assessment and Management , 2005 .

[34]  Colin Eden,et al.  Problem formulation and negotiation in multi-organisational contexts , 1993 .

[35]  J. Wondolleck,et al.  Teetering at the Top of the Ladder: The Experience of Citizen Group Participants in Alternative Dispute Resolution Processes , 1996 .

[36]  G. Kelly.  The Psychology of Personal Constructs , 2020 .

[37]  Kai N. Lee.  Compass and Gyroscope: Integrating Science and Politics for the Environment, Kai N. Lee. 1993. Island Press, Washington, DC. 290 pages. ISBN: 1-59963-197-X. $25.00 , 1993 .

[38]  Mark S. Litwin,et al.  How to Measure Survey Reliability and Validity , 1995 .

[39]  S. Arnstein,et al.  Ladder of Citizen Participation , 2020 .

[40]  Jonathan Rosenhead,et al.  Rational Analysis for a Problematic World Revisited , 2001 .

[41]  P. Sands,et al.  Documents in International Environmental Law: Non-Legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests, 13 June 1992 , 2004 .

[42]  Lorne Olfman,et al.  End-user computing: a research framework for investigating the training/learning process , 1988 .

[43]  Grazia Borrini,et al.  Collaborative management of protected areas : tailoring the approach to the context , 1996 .

[44]  John Kekes,et al.  The Morality of Pluralism , 1993 .

[45]  Jane M. Carey,et al.  Human factors in management information systems , 1988 .

[46]  S. Daniels,et al.  Collaborative learning: Improving public deliberation in ecosystem-based management , 1996 .

[47]  S. D. N. Cook,et al.  Culture and Organizational Learning , 1993 .

[48]  John Forester,et al.  The Deliberative Practitioner: Encouraging Participatory Planning Processes , 1999 .

[49]  B. Gillham.  The Research Interview , 2000 .