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Incorporating the participatory process in the design of geospatial support tools: Lessons learned from SeaSketch

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Abstract

Since launching five years ago, SeaSketch has been used in approximately 30 large-scale projects and over 200 educational programs and research-based projects distributed over 40 countries. The study presented in this article engages SeaSketch developers, project administrators, and users through semi-structured interviews and surveys meant to inform designers on how to better incorporate the participatory process within geodesign applications. The results of this study suggest five ways in which designers can help increase public participation including: (1) determining the eligibility of a project by mapping stakeholder engagement, (2) monitoring perceptions of fairness, (3) visualizing data for non-technical experts, (4) alternatives to usability models with chauffeurs, and (5) project management features within geodesign. Each one of these suggestions provides ample avenues of inquiry and can help practitioners and researchers conduct longitudinal studies across projects and/or applications.

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... Defining specifically who the target users are for a tool is one of the challenges of the DST development process (Loucks, 1995), and limited involvement of users in the development phase can lead to unsuccessful DSTs (Uran and Janssen, 2003). When users become part of the development process, scientific expertise and local knowledge are combined, maximizing the opportunities and benefits arising from the development of the tool (Oliver and others, 2017;Burnett, 2020), including mutual learning (NRC, 2009). ...
... While structured stakeholder engagement methods can be cost-and time-intensive (Oliver and others, 2017), they are essential for ensuring that DSTs serve the need(s) they were built to support (Oliver and others, 2017;Burnett 2020). All of the USGS interviewees spoke about the benefits that can be gained from both structured and unstructured stakeholder engagement. ...
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... The current approach to address this is the development of one-off model specific applications. For example, SeaSketch is a marine spatial planning application that provides communities reusable tools for community engagement and decision-support (Burnett, 2020), LUCST is an application that allows stakeholders to define land use land cover change scenarios against the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT+) (Rigby et al., 2022), and the PoPS (Pest or Pathogen Spread Model) application provides a framework for participants to engage in forecasting the spread of pests and pathogens . OpenPlains takes a different approach by providing a model-agnostic platform to create interactive GPM. ...
... Extensive documentation is still required to make it accessible to many users, and user interface and user experience design for interactive geospatial models still need to be explored as different modeling scenarios will require varying levels of abstraction (Zellner et al., 2022;Vukomanovic et al., 2019;Voinov and Gaddis, 2008). Future studies evaluating both OpenPlains applications' usability (Burnett, 2020;Gaydos et al., 2021;Koski et al., 2021a) and the participatory process (Hedelin et al., 2021) need to be conducted. OpenPlains' application architecture is designed to scale to a large number of concurrent users. ...
... Utilising the power of digital technologies in PSM is not a new research agenda and there is an extensive body of literature focusing, for example, on the use of GIS technology within public participation (referred to as Active Citizenship) (Burnett, 2020) or computer games primarily for a functional purpose rather than pure entertainment (referred to as Serious Games) (Taillandier et al., 2019). However, as cyber-enabled participatory approaches are moving beyond one-way data collection from members of the public and becoming more routine in policy discussions (Voinov et al., 2016), there are important emerging questions about the conceptual, procedural, and technological design of workshops in order to ensure effective stakeholder participation , effective facilitation of participatory workshops, and the exchange of information over the cloud, with the follow-up access to the resultant model and underlying data (Giabbanelli & Baniukiewicz, 2018). ...
... Step 5: pre-workshop online polling The GMCA strategic plan describes a set of 10 interdependent so-called Priorities for the period of 2019-2024(GMCA, 2017. Each priority in the document is associated with a range of Strategies that drives the system to achieve a set of (overlapping) Outcomes. ...
... PPGIS and related methods are generally considered a good way to generate spatialised information on the social/ cultural values and preferences of coastal/marine stakeholders and citizens, as well as to enhance transparency and collaboration (e.g., Blake et al., 2017;Merrifield et al., 2013;Strickland-Munro et al., 2016). Burnett (2020) specifically suggests how to develop and ensure representation and equitable distribution of power in PPGIS processes, linking the generation of information (an instrumental purpose) to dimensions of fairness (a normative purpose). ...
... The most commonly addressed tools in the reviewed literature, i.e., public participation GIS (PPGIS) and ecosystem services (ES), may have potential to further elaborate and embed SS concerns in MSP. For example, Burnett (2020) suggests ways to ensure equity and representation in PPGIS processes, whichif used consciously for this purpose -could be a starting point for a more general discussion about equity and representation in MSP. Allowance for more fluid perceptions that reflect contextually situated perspectives about what should constitute ES, as proposed by Elwell et al. (2018), could also contribute to the deeper considerations of SS in MSP, especially when also engaging stakeholders in these conversations. ...
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... The intention of the program is to, 'preserve outstanding waves, surf zones and surrounding environments around the world (Noosa World Surfing Reserve 2020). This reflects the broader extension of geodesign principles elsewhere into marine environments as presented by McClintock (2013) and Burnett (2020). ...
Article
Geodesign theory and practice may be informed and strengthened by studying contrasts between contemporary perspectives and historical processes. In this paper, we disaggregate contemporary geodesign into three trajectories found in the literature: (1) tightly coupled design and impact simulations, (2) a framework for landscape planning, and (3) an organic process. Augmenting these trajectories with two taxonomies of geodesign elements, we look for evidence of geodesign in a longitudinal descriptive case study. Analysis reveals a story of design and planning unfolding over a long period of time at multiple geographic scales interwoven with persistent conflict. The case revealed evidence of geodesign approaches and elements in historical planning and design. The events studied also led to high-quality outcomes that are diffusing regionally. Results of this investigation yield implications for improved geodesign practice and theory including broadening the discourse around geodesign to include time and conflict and expanding geodesign's theoretical frameworks.
... Although this may seem appropriate for certain PM scenarios, evidence suggests that using a chauffeur can reduce the overall understanding of how the data were collected, stored, and processed by stakeholders (Burnett, 2020). Using a chauffeur cuts participants off from the technology which can then lead to lower levels of trust and cooperation between all parties/stakeholders. PM project administrators and users note that visualizing data, especially during the analysis phase, plays a critical role in the way participants view the overall process and this influences the likelihood of acceptance (Weiner et al., 2002). ...
Chapter
Participatory Mapping (PM) incorporates a diverse set of tools and approaches for planning, gathering, and utilizing spatial data for collective place-making and action. Its roots span centuries-old traditions of indigenous storytelling and local oral histories, as well as pictorial images and computer graphics and what we today recognize as maps. This edited volume prepares the reader to choose the appropriate participatory mapping software for a project or a course by providing a brief history of its origins, essential terminology, trends and gaps, and major debates. Our purpose is to present readers with a common framework for assessing and selecting amongst alternative participatory mapping approaches and the principles used to build supporting technology. The evaluation framework outlined in this chapter lays the foundation for each of the software-focused reviews and case studies.KeywordsTechnologyMapsEvaluationParticipation
... Marxan can offer invaluable decision support and needs to be used with other information and with input from stakeholders in order to be effectively used to design marine protections or other zones (Ardron et al., 2010). Other decision-support tools include SeaSketch, marine atlases, marine cadastre, games, and Zonation (Burnett, 2020;Dias et al., 2017). ...
Chapter
Protecting marine habitats for biodiversity is essential to ensure the long-term viability of these ecosystems, globally. Seabirds rely on healthy marine ecosystems and these relationships can span multiple jurisdictions in a single year, even within a single breeding season. The ecosystem dependency and political complexity requires a seabird practitioner to be aware of, understand and access a variety of approaches and spatial conservation tools to achieve seabird viability goals. These approaches include spatial planning, protected areas and other effective conservation measures as well as other tools, policy and legal instruments. In this chapter, marine spatial conservation measures are described, explored and contrasted in order to provide a solid foundation of theory and practice. The most commonly applied concepts and perspectives that are used currently are introduced as well as specific examples that have advanced the protection of seabirds in different parts of the world.
... The convening institutions then fail to achieve (or even seek to achieve) a bottom-up approach. Many practitioners and participants are fatigued by governmental or institutional projects that claim to be "participatory" and yet do not take into account the perceptions, emotions, and needs of participants (Burnett 2020). ...
Chapter
Participatory mapping is a human practice that spans thousands of years. From oral storytelling to the first hand‐drawn maps, participatory processes and methods have always been used in cartography and planning and yet the term “participatory mapping” did not become popular until the 1990s. For many practitioners, participatory mapping can be used to broaden access to spatial data and technology for socially and economically marginalized groups to facilitate decision‐making. Activists use participatory mapping to protect indigenous and experiential knowledge and advocate for local knowledge to reshape policy and foster normative behavioral change around land‐use concepts. From conservation and natural resource management, to rural or urban planning, to social and environmental activism and advocacy, participatory mapping is an important tool to understand the production of spatial knowledge.
... The development of spatial agent-based simulations has been a particular focus of existing studies [5]. Two emerging concepts are Active Citizenship (the use of GIS technology within public participation) and Serious Games (computer games primarily designed for a functional purpose rather than pure entertainment), supported by tools such as NetLogo [40], SeaSketch [41], and GAMA [42]. ...
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... The development of spatial agent-based simulations has been a particular focus of existing studies [5]. Two emerging concepts are Active Citizenship (the use of GIS technology within public participation) and Serious Games (computer games primarily designed for a functional purpose rather than pure entertainment), supported by tools such as NetLogo [40], SeaSketch [41], and GAMA [42]. ...
Preprint
Full-text available
Traditional participatory systems modelling demands synchronous time from many experts and face-to-face interaction. This is not always feasible (e.g. recent pandemic) and can restrict which participants can be included. There are additional limitations in the effectiveness of physical paper-based modelling when handling large complex systems with numerous variables and links between them. The key challenge facing practitioners is then how we can retain the benefits of traditional participatory modelling whilst exploiting the advantages of new technologies? This paper contributes to development of an original systematic methodology based on Cybernetic principles. The proposed method, refers to 5X – standing for Expose, Explore, Exploit, Explain, and Expand, offers a fully virtual co-produced environment for better engagement of stakeholders, developing more confidence in systems mapping, and promote knowledge to other policy areas. A primary application of the proposed method in a real policy setting illustrates its capability in generating a shared policy understanding of complex Inclusive Economy system, where there is conflicting or dispersed knowledge about system structure, refining this understanding through online feedback channels, and transferring this understanding to wider policy and academic partners through mutual relationships.
... Since SEANERGY urges for collaboration, its maps could more easily be presented and explored by stakeholders if implemented in a communication-driven spatial DST for collaborative MSP that offers options for non-GIS users to map, edit, and explore spatial data. Advanced examples of such DSTs are SeaSketch, which was developed in 2012 by McClintock Labs at the University of California Santa Barbara's Marine Science Institute (Burnett 2020), and the free and open source Baltic Explorer, which was developed in the EU BONUS BASMATI project (2017-2020) for the Baltic Sea region (Rönneberg et al. 2019). It is up to planners how much decision power they will allow sector representatives to have in an interactive MSP workshop where SEANERGY could be included, whether the SEANERGY conflictsynergy-score inputs will be first and foremost defined by planners after consulting sector representatives through a process of what Morf et al. (2019b) would classify as deliberation, or whether sector representatives will be allowed to decide the scores in what Morf et al. (2019b) would refer to as a process of collaboration. ...
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Multi-Stakeholder Platforms are a currently popular concept in the international water world. It is however not a very well defined phenomenon. The present article unpacks the concept, proposes to see platforms as networks, and identifies two ´schools of thought´: social learning and negotiation. It attempts a preliminary typology of platforms encountered in real life, in which the Comités de Bacia in Brazil, for all their shortcomings, come out as a relatively influential type. In closing, the article then identifies reasons for non-participation, suggesting that it is an inevitable corollary of organised participation.
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The term public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) was conceived to describe how GIS technology could support public participation with the goal of including local or marginalized populations in planning and decision processes. Based on experience with more than 15 PPGIS studies, the central thesis of this paper is that PPGIS has not substantively increased the level of public impact in decision making because of multiple social and institutional constraints. Following a review of a decade of empirical PPGIS research, this paper explores why government and nongovernment organization (NGO) adoption of PPGIS for environmental planning decision support has lagged. Despite methodological advances in PPGIS, agency barriers to effective public participation have not been fundamentally altered by PPGIS. For PPGIS to have a sustained impact on regional and environmental planning, agencies must meaningfully encourage and involve the public in planning processes irrespective of the GIS component.
Article
PRELIMINARIES. Geographical Data, Information, and Decision Making. Introduction to GIS. Introduction to Multicriteria Decision Analysis. SPATIAL MULTICRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS. Evaluation Criteria. Decision Alternatives and Constraints. Criterion Weighing. Decision Rules. Sensitivity Analysis. MULTICRITERIA-SPATIAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS. Spatial Decision Support Systems. MC-SDSS: Case Studies. Glossary. Selected Bibliography. Indexes.
Article
Public participation GIS (PPGIS) methods have progressed over the last decade, but as a rapidly evolving practice and area of research, there are new challenges. To identify the key issues and research priorities in PPGIS, two researchers that have designed and implemented more than 40 empirical studies spanning both environmental and urban applications present their views about the present and future of PPGIS for land use planning and management. This paper is intended to be a synthesis, but not necessarily a consensus of the key issues and research priorities. We have organized the paper into six general key issues and four priority research topics. The key issues are: (1) conceptual and theoretical foundations, (2) the diversity of definitions and approaches to participatory mapping, (3) the spatial attributes measured in participatory mapping, (4) sampling, participation, and data quality, (5) relationships between participatory mapped attributes and physical places, and (6) the integration of PPGIS data into planning decision support. Our top research priorities include: (1) understanding and increasing participation rates, (2) identifying and controlling threats to spatial data quality, (3) improving the “PP” or public participation in PPGIS, and (4) evaluating the effectiveness of PPGIS. Our purpose for presenting a research agenda is to stimulate discourse among PPGIS researchers and practitioners about future research needs and to provide support for the mobilization of resources to undertake future empirical research.
Article
The "GIS and Society" literature has raised a number of critical issues concerning the political economy and epistemology of geographical information systems (GIS) and the politics and power relations associated with their use. Recently, attention has focused on the potential for GIS to help empower communities. This paper reviews the GIS and Society debate. Case studies of public participation GIS are reviewed. The GIS-empowerment-marginalization nexus is addressed through the concept of community-integrated GIS. It is argued that GIS is a contradictory technology that simultaneously marginalizes and empowers people and communities. As a result, the societal impacts of GIS are contingent upon particular configurations of place-based historical, socio-economic, political, and technological conditions.
Article
In many countries, water allocation has become increasingly controversial as competition has increased. This paper summarizes a research programme of seven studies over 10 years that has developed social psychological theories of justice, equity and fairness for application to the implementation and evaluation of water allocation decisions. Much of the research has been conducted in the context of the development of government sponsored water reform in Australia. This reform has emphasized the need for integrated approaches to water management which encourage efficiency of use through markets, and environmental sustainability through the introduction of environmental (in-stream) flows. The initial study tested the adequacy of equity and procedural justice theories to provide explanations about people's evaluation of decision-making in the context of water allocation. They were found to provide insufficient scope for the evaluations. Therefore, the second and third studies developed alternative universal fairness principles and adopted the fairness heuristic as a concept for judging the justice of individual water allocation decisions. It was found that the public's universal fairness principles in contrasting allocation case studies were relatively stable over a decade, and provide criteria for judging allocation decisions. Water was consistently seen as a public good; the environment was seen to have rights to water; and procedural issues were important in allocation decision-making. The most recent four studies have shifted to the local or situational fairness contexts. These four studies examined the justice or fairness principles that were appropriate for decision-making when irrigation communities were faced with possible decreased allocations to provide for environmental sustainability. Three studies were survey based, and one was an action research project to develop fairness-based rules for community management. The conclusion from these four studies was that local procedural justice issues, particularly those pertaining to public involvement for local people in decision-making, were significant determinants of judgements of the fairness of the decisions. Economic considerations had some importance, but were not the over-riding issues, and water markets were seen as unacceptable processes for water allocation or re-allocation. The research also provided evidence that self-interest is tempered by pro-social motivations such as fairness when making water-allocation decisions. Finally, it was evident that the public could make relatively complex judgements which used dimensions that go beyond the scope of traditional social psychological definitions of equity and procedural justice.
Article
A distinguishing feature of conservation planning and analysis methods is that they gener-ally rely on biological assessments carried out using scientific sampling protocols and meth-odologies. Few conservation planning methods explicitly include what is variably described as values, understanding and perceptions. In this study, we examine the potential use of local values of biological resources in conservation planning by comparing this with scien-tific biological assessment of the same region, using the example of Prince William Sound, Alaska (USA). Specifically, we compare the spatial coincidence of local perceptions of bio-logical importance (or value) identified in a survey of Alaska residents with biologically sig-nificant areas identified by scientists familiar with the area from a marine conservation workshop. The results indicate a moderate degree of spatial coincidence between local values and scientific assessment with obvious geographic areas of agreement and disagreement. We suggest that incorporation of local perceptions of biological importance can complement and strengthen scientific biological assessments and propose an iterative conservation plan-ning process that includes both methodologies.
Article
Public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS) pertains to the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to broaden public involvement in policymaking as well as to the value of GIS to promote the goals of nongovernmental organizations, grassroots groups, and community-based organizations. The article first traces the social history of PPGIS. It then argues that PPGIS has been socially constructed by a broad set of actors in research across disciplines and in practice across sectors. This produced and reproduced concept is then explicated through four major themes found across the breadth of the PPGIS literature: place and people, technology and data, process, and outcome and evaluation. The themes constitute a framework for evaluating current PPGIS activities and a roadmap for future PPGIS research and practice.
Article
Spatial group decision-making processes often include both informal and analytical components. Discussions among stakeholders or planning experts are an example of an informal component. When participants discuss spatial planning projects they typically express concerns and comments by pointing to places on a map. The Argumentation Map model provides a conceptual basis for collaborative tools that enable explicit linkages of arguments to the places to which they refer. These tools allow for the input of explicitly geo-referenced arguments as well as the visual access to arguments through a map interface. In this paper, we will review previous utility studies in geo-collaboration and evaluate a case study of a Web-based Argumentation Map application. The case study was conducted in the summer of 2005 when student participants discussed planning issues on the University of Toronto St. George campus. During a one-week unmoderated discussion phase, 11 participants wrote 60 comments on issues such as safety, facilities, parking, and building aesthetics. By measuring the participants’ use of geographic references, we draw conclusions on how well the software tool supported the potential of the underlying concept. This research aims to contribute to a scientific approach to geo-collaboration in which the engineering of novel spatial decision support methods is complemented by a critical assessment of their utility in controlled, realistic experiments.
Article
The complex and dynamic nature of environmental problems requires flexible and transparent decision-making that embraces a diversity of knowledges and values. For this reason, stakeholder participation in environmental decision-making has been increasingly sought and embedded into national and international policy. Although many benefits have been claimed for participation, disillusionment has grown amongst practitioners and stakeholders who have felt let down when these claims are not realised. This review first traces the development of participatory approaches in different disciplinary and geographical contexts, and reviews typologies that can be used to categorise and select participatory methods. It then reviews evidence for normative and pragmatic benefits of participation, and evaluates limitations and drawbacks. Although few of the claims that are made have been tested, there is evidence that stakeholder participation can enhance the quality of environmental decisions by considering more comprehensive information inputs. However, the quality of decisions made through stakeholder participation is strongly dependant on the nature of the process leading to them. Eight features of best practice participation are then identified from a Grounded Theory Analysis of the literature. These features emphasise the need to replace a “tool-kit” approach, which emphasises selecting the relevant tools for the job, with an approach that emphasises participation as a process. It is argued that stakeholder participation needs to be underpinned by a philosophy that emphasises empowerment, equity, trust and learning. Where relevant, participation should be considered as early as possible and throughout the process, representing relevant stakeholders systematically. The process needs to have clear objectives from the outset, and should not overlook the need for highly skilled facilitation. Local and scientific knowledges can be integrated to provide a more comprehensive understanding of complex and dynamic socio-ecological systems and processes. Such knowledge can also be used to evaluate the appropriateness of potential technical and local solutions to environmental problems. Finally, it is argued that to overcome many of its limitations, stakeholder participation must be institutionalised, creating organisational cultures that can facilitate processes where goals are negotiated and outcomes are necessarily uncertain. In this light, participatory processes may seem very risky, but there is growing evidence that if well designed, these perceived risks may be well worth taking. The review concludes by identifying future research needs.
Article
The last twenty-five years have seen major changes in the nature and scope of geographical information. This has happened in one way in society at large, where computers, satellites and global positioning systems have made geographical information more extensive, more detailed and more available. It has happened in another way within the university, where rapidly evolving geographic information systems have been touted as tools useful in a wide range of disciplines, tools that will resolve problems as different as the nature of global climate change and the routing of mail. In both settings the move from manual to computer-based systems is viewed as having a natural trajectory, from less powerful to more powerful technologies. These systems are held to be increasingly able to model and represent all that is important in geographical knowledge and behaviour. They are seen as fitting into and supporting traditional scientific and social practices and institutions. Digital Places: Living with Geographic Information Technologies shows that on each score the systems have been misunderstood and their impacts underestimated. By offering an understanding of Geographic Information Systems within the social, economic, legal, political and ethical contexts within which they exist, the author shows that there are substantial limits to their ability to represent the very objects and relationships, people and places, that many believe to be most important. Focusing on the ramifications of GIS usage, Digital Places shows that they are associated with far-reaching changes in the institutions in which they exist, and in the lives of those they touch. In the end they call for a complete rethinking of basic ideas, like privacy and intellectual property and the nature of scientific practice, that have underpinned public life for the last one hundred years.
Article
A growing body of research examining the social and political implications of geographic information systems (GIS) considers the extent to which the use of this technology may empower or disempower different actors and institutions. However, these studies have tended not to articulate a clear conceptualization of empowerment. Thus, in this paper, I develop a multidimensional conceptual framework for assessing empowerment (and disempowerment), and employ it in examining the impacts of GIS use by community-based organizations engaged in urban planning and neighborhood revitalization. Drawing on a case study conducted with a Minneapolis, Minnesota, neighborhood organization, I show how this multidimensional framework fosters a more complete analysis of empowerment, and therefore, development of a more detailed explanation of the impacts of this new technology.
Article
INTRODUCTION Geographic information systems (GIS) and geographic information technologies (GIT) are increasingly employed in research and development projects that incorporate community participation. For example, there are now applications involving indigenous natural resource mapping in arctic and tropical regions within the Americas (Marozas, 1993; Cultural Survival Quarterly, 1995; Bond, this volume). There is also a rapidly growing network of planning professionals interested in how GIS can merge with community participation in the context of neighborhood revitalization and urban planning (Aitkin and Michel, 1995; Craig and Elwood, 1998; Leitner et al., this volume; Sawicki and Peterman, this volume; Talen, 1999, 2000). Environmental groups are experimenting with community GIS applications to promote environmental equity and address environmental racism (Sieber, 2000; Kellog, 1999). Furthermore, NGOs, aid organizations, and governmental agencies are linking communities with geogr
PPGIS in community development planning: framing the organizational context
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SeaSketch projects. McClintock labs. Marine science center
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