Shortly before Christmas, on December 16th, EUROLakes partners had the privilege of attending a special introductory workshop on Participatory Multi-Criteria Analysis (PMCA), organized by Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM). The main objective of the event was to equip the consortium members with the required knowledge and tools to evaluate how PMCA can support strategic decision-making within the project’s demo-sites. It also served as an opportunity to explore potential integration with other methodologies that are used in the project.
The 90-minute learning activity comprised the following agenda:
- Introduction to PMCA: An in-depth explanation of the PMCA methodology, complemented by specific examples showcasing its application in real-world scenarios.
- Exploring Mulino Decision Support System (mDSS): A focused session on mDSS, the decision support system developed by FEEM’s team, designed to facilitate structured and strategic decision-making processes.
- Application to EUROLakes’ Demo-Sites: A discussion on how PMCA and mDSS can be tailored to meet the specific needs of each demo-site.
PMCA Workshop Key Takeaways:
- Strategic Decision-Making Tool: PMCA proves to be a valuable approach for guiding strategic decisions in complex projects.
- Facilitating Dialogue: It enables a better understanding of the convergence and divergence of stakeholder opinions, providing clarity on the choices to be made.
- Stakeholder Engagement: PMCA serves as an effective way to involve and actively engage stakeholders, fostering collaboration and shared ownership of the process.
- The Participatory Multi-Criteria Approach is a recognized and evolving method used in decision-making flows, project evaluation and policy development. An essential characteristic of the approach is engaging stakeholders in a collaborative process to evaluate and rank various options or scenarios based on multiple criteria, often with the aim of making informed and balanced decisions.
Conclusion and Next Steps:
- At Vico Lake, discussions are already underway to explore how PMCA can help identify suitable locations for implementing Nature-Based Solutions.
- Lake Bistret has shown interest in leveraging PMCA to define optimal sites for installing eco lines.
- As a follow-up, a methodological document synthesizing the PMCA approach will be distributed in January, serving as a reference for future applications.
One of the proposed innovations in EUROLakes is to combine PMCA with the 4 Returns Framework (4RF) methodology, which is also looking for adaptive management practices through clear understanding of local dynamics, and to achieve one integrated approach for participatory communities, allowing for higher flexibility in responding to changing conditions.
The 4 Returns Framework and the Participatory Multicriteria Analysis appear to be complementing one another and merging the two for the first time in EUROLakes can leverage the strengths of both approaches. The integration of the 4 Returns as categories in the PMCA can lead to the creation of a structured and comprehensive framework for evaluating and scoring different alternatives. Each alternative is weighed against its importance and how well it fulfills each of the 4 Returns, empowering decision-makers to prioritize certain aspects over others. Such an approach is assessed to be well- suited for complex challenges like natural lake protection and restoration where a balanced consideration of various dimensions is crucial for sustainable outcomes.