Actor based analysis and modeling approaches

Integrated assessment (IA) can be defined as the scientific discipline that integrates knowledge about a problem domain and makes it available for policy development and decision making processes. Whereas initial approaches relied mainly on models as means for integration, subsequent approaches paid increasingly attention to including the knowledge of stakeholders in the assessment process. The human dimension has thus a prominent role to play. It is a challenge to represent human behaviour in integrated assessment models. A new approach, agent based modelling, proves to be very promising in this respect. It allows representation of the complex dynamics of human-technology-environment systems and is particularly suitable for participatory approaches. Actor based analysis and modelling takes into account that decision making processes are complex and that any assessment has to take the subjective perceptions and individual framings of actors into account. The combination of integrated models and multi-scale stakeholder processes is a promising approach to assess and manage societal transformation processes in dealing with complex socio-environmental problems.