Qualité de la Connaissance dans un Processus Délibératif

Les évaluations scientifiques des risques complexes tels que le changement de climat, la perte de biodiversité, l'épuisement des ressources naturelles, les nanotechnologies ou les perturbateurs endocriniens, par exemple, sont confrontées à un certain nombre d¿incertitudes qui revêtent des formes diverses, dicilement appréhendables, de manière ecace, dans la pratique (Ambrosi et Courtois,2004). Pourtant, des décisions doivent être prises et ce, avant que des preuves concluantes ne soient disponibles, tout en sachant que les impacts potentiels de fausses décisions peuvent être tout aussi importants. Selon la conception classique du conseil scientifique aux décideurs, la certitude est nécessaire à la gestion des problèmes complexes. Cependant, l¿incertitude fait partie de la vie. C¿est dans cette perspective que cet article se situe, en posant la question de la validité et de la pertinence de la connaissance scientifique pour traiter de problèmes complexes.JRC.G.9-Econometrics and statistical support to antifrau

3 pillars and 1 beam: Quality of river basin governance processes

This paper suggests a framework that may enhance quality assurance of evaluation of river basin planning and governance processes based on 3 pillars and 1 beam: inclusive governance, transparent assessment, socially robust knowledge and extended peer review. It was developed based on past evaluation experiences from 5 cases of European river basin governance processes, entailing analysis of emergent patterns and linkages among the 4 vertices of the ADVISOR tetrahedron (context, information, assessment and participation), looking into justifications of past practice according to 4 types of context: institutional, societal, knowledge and methodological. The paper also hints on quality requirements that could be recommended for future practice of river basin governance evaluation activities.Quality assurance Socially robust knowledge Extended peer review Inclusive governance

Knowledge Assessment: Protocol for Quality Assurance by Extended Peer Review

This chapter deals with the assessment of quality of the information used in Integrated Water Planning Processes. Firstly, the quality of information used in river basin assessment studies is analysed for the 5 case studies available for ADVISOR (Del Moral et al. 2002; Hatzilacou et al. 2002; Hill et al. 2002; Van Leeuwen et al. 2002; Videira et al. 2002). Quality categories are used to produce a diagnosis of a purposeful developed model of information flows, characteristic of water assessment studies. The scheme comprises criteria to analyse information produced and communicated and assessment activities undertaken. Subsequently, both a normative and a descriptive use of the quality categories is proposed in a form of a protocol for quality assurance, illustrated with an application to a case study in Portugal: The Mediated Modelling process in the Baixo Guadiana, suggesting its usefulness in the planning activities envisaged under the WFD.JRC.G.4-Maritime affair

3 Pillars & 1 Beam: Quality of River Basin Governance Processes

This paper suggests a framework that may enhance quality assurance of evaluation of river basin planning and governance processes based on 3 pillars and 1 beam: inclusive governance, transparent assessment, socially robust knowledge and extended peer review. It was developed based on past evaluation experiences from 5 cases of European river basin governance processes, entailing analysis of emergent patterns and linkages among the 4 vertices of the ADVISOR tetrahedron (context, information, assessment and participation), looking into justifications of past practice according to 4 types of context: institutional, societal, knowledge and methodological. The paper also hints on quality requirements that could be recommended for future practice of river basin governance evaluation activities.JRC.G.9-Econometrics and applied statistic

GOUVERNe: New trends in decision support for groundwater governance issues

EVK1-1999-00032) aims at developing a quality assured information system for the improved governance of underground water resources at the catchment and sub-catchment levels. This entails the design and implementation of a Tool to Inform Debates, Dialogues & Deliberations (TIDDD). It combines traditional features of decision support systems (such as organisation of the information and tools for exploitation of the information) with the new conception in harmony with the management and governance context in which it will be used. The project run in four different regions in Europe. For all the case studies main governance issues, as well as main actors – and therefore the types of audiences that could take part in the aquifer governance – have been identified, prior to the development of the TIDDD. The issue of audience is of foremost importance because one of the key topics addressed in this project is the ‘information divide ’ issue. It arises when in decision making processes, those affected or affecting it are exposed to information that is neither useful nor appropriate for efficient involvement and fruitful debate- or for tackling conflict prone situations such as those arising in water governance processes. The TIDDD features a client-server architecture, linked to a Geographical Information System. It contains outranking multi-criteria evaluation methods as tools for exploring the information available; its interface is developed based upon modern concepts of computer user interfaces. Both the information contents and the ‘exploration ’ tools follow th

GOUVERNe: New Trends in Decision Support for Groundwater Governance Issues

The GOUVERNe project has developed a quality assured information system for the improved governance of groundwater resources at the catchment and sub-catchment levels. It required the design and implementation of a Tool to Inform Debates, Dialogues & Deliberations (TIDDD), combining traditional features of decision support systems (such as organisation of the information and tools for exploitation of the information) with an awareness of the new context of management and governance in which they are embedded. Both the information contents and the ‘exploration’ tools follow the principle of progressive disclosure of information, i.e. the TIDDD does not assume an expert use but it progressively enables the exploration of scientific and technical information, as users become in need of those. The communication style is done in a transparent fashion and all materials are quality assured both in terms of scientific validation, as well as by the community of users; this is done through an appropriate quality assurance protocol for tools in a participatory decision and policy making contexts. This paper describes the process of designing and implementing such a system, as well as its potential application in management contexts. It is based on one of the four case studies of the GOUVERNe project, the Hérault middle valley in France.JRC.G.4-Maritime affair

Climate-related displacements of coastal communities in the Arctic: engaging traditional knowledge in adaptation strategies and policies

Climate change impacts lead to alterations in migration patterns and the displacement of exposed native communities and peoples in the Arctic region, forcing them to leave their homes and traditional ways of life as a result of rapid local ecological changes. This paper illustrates climate-related displacements and subsequent relocation as extremely complex processes, and proposes traditional knowledge as a relevant source of knowledge both at local level and policy making spheres. The main conclusions are that the representation of indigenous peoples in international governance structures does not guarantee that traditional knowledge is entirely engaged in evidence-based policy making and that traditional knowledge is not always valued as an equal source of knowledge by some relevant scientific bodies. In this context, changing the approach towards a knowledge-systems-based framework would contribute to the development of more concrete policies and strategies for adaptation of Arctic native communities.JRC.I.2-Foresight, Behavioural Insights and Design for Polic