Structured Decision Making

This book outlines the creative process of making environmentalmanagement decisions using the approach called StructuredDecision Making. It is a short introductory guide to thispopular form of decision making and is aimed at environmentalmanagers and scientists. This is a distinctly pragmatic label given to ways forhelping individuals and groups think through tough multidimensionalchoices characterized by uncertain science, diverse stakeholders,and difficult tradeoffs. This is the everyday reality ofenvironmental management, yet many important decisions currentlyare made on an ad hoc basis that lacks a solid value-basedfoundation, ignores key information, and results in selection of aninferior alternative. Making progress - in a way that isrigorous, inclusive, defensible and transparent - requirescombining analytical methods drawn from the decision sciences andapplied ecology with deliberative insights from cognitivepsychology, facilitation and negotiation. The authors review key methods and discuss case-study examplesbased in their experiences in communities, boardrooms, andstakeholder meetings. The goal of this book is to lay outa compelling guide that will change how you think about makingenvironmental decisions. Visit www.wiley.com/go/gregory/sdm toaccess the figures and tables from the book.