Understanding Policy Decisions

From stakeholders analysis to cognitive mapping and Multi-Attribute Value Theory: An integrated approach for policy support

“…Stewart et al, 2010) but, so far, there are no applications testing in a real setting the joint use of the 3 methods proposed in this study, i.e. stakeholders analysis (in the form of a power interest matrix, Dente, 2014), cognitive maps (Eden, 1988), and the specific Multicriteria technique named Multi Attribute Value Theory (Keeney and Raiffa, 1976). The reasons for the choice of this specific mix of methods can be summarized as follows: (i) cognitive maps seem one of the most promising tools for problem structuring prior to the application of Multicriteria Decision Aiding (e.g.…”

“…Belton and Stewart, 2002;Stewart et al, 2010), as detailed in section 2.2, (ii) stakeholders analysis in the form of a power interest matrix is particularly suitable for complementing the Multi Attribute Value Theory technique given that the latter in a collaborative decision process context does not efficiently support the achievement of a consensus in the preference elicitation phase (e.g. Ferretti and Comino, 2015), thus calling for the need to aggregate different viewpoints according to their different levels of importance, as discussed in section 2.3 and in the conclusions, and, finally, (iii) stakeholders analysis has shown to be a very important preliminary step in multi attribute decision making processes (Dente, 2014), as detailed in section 2.1. The approach proposed in the present paper has thus an innovative value, which stems not only from the experimentation of the mix of the above mentioned specific techniques to support the overall planning process with a participatory approach, but also from their testing in the context of public policy making and cultural heritage management, where the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods seems to yield greater benefits (Myllyviita et al, 2014).…”

“…In particular, the mixed-method approach combines stakeholders analysis (Dente, 2014), cognitive mapping (Eden, 1988) and Multi Attribute Value Theory (Keeney and Raiffa, 1976) which are powerful methods of analysis and evaluation and that can inform each other and foster synergies, as will be presented in the following paragraphs. Among the different possibilities for designing mixed methods research, the sequential design (Creswell et al, 2011) has been chosen, as it seems particularly appropriate in the context of policy making where the planning process should follow the subsequent phases of policy formulation since the very beginning.…”

“…In public policy making the actors and their behaviors represent the core of any possible theoretical model (Dente, 2014;Boerboom and Ferretti, 2014). The actors are those individuals or organizations that make the actions able to influence the decisional outcomes and that do it because they pursue goals regarding the problem and its possible solution, or regarding their relations with other actors (Dente, 2014).…”

“…The actors are those individuals or organizations that make the actions able to influence the decisional outcomes and that do it because they pursue goals regarding the problem and its possible solution, or regarding their relations with other actors (Dente, 2014). In particular, any actor having a vested interest in the decision process, either directly affecting or being affected by its resolution, including experts and the public, is named stakeholder.…”