Converging Waters: Integrating Collaborative Modeling with Participatory Processes to Make Water Resource Decisions

This book provides a touchstone in the development of collaborative modeling for decision support, an approach to decision-making where parties negotiate agreements by communicating through a mutually developed and accepted computer simulation model. The approach supports decision making, promotes group learning, improves dialogue among technical and political actors, encourages competing interests to identify trade-offs, and encourages negotiations among interests, It helps address the technical complexity and conflicting values often inherent in water resources management. Chapter authors from within and outside government define and describe the approach, offer case studies illustrating its application, and examine challenges and opportunities for improving water resources planning through its use. With its focus on the opportunity that lies at the intersection of scientific / technical advances and procedural / social interchange, the book provides a useful stepping stone in the evolving path of water resources management, illustrating the current state of the field and providing a resource for current and potential practitioners.