Digitalising the collection of trade-off preferences (DIZH_Fellowship)

Deciding for a sustainable future implies trade-offs and requires local decisions processes where the different actors can express their preference on how to address these trade-offs. My project investigates the use of digital interfaces in such deliberative participatory decision processes.

Key data

Description

Sustainability, one of the five ZHAW focus topic, is a multi-dimensional concept. Making decisions for a sustainable future is complex because trade-offs between the different dimensions are unavoidable. Moreover, actors may have different opinions, i.e. some value one dimension, which relatively is unimportant to others. Yet, to address the current climate and biodiversity crises we need local transformation solutions that are supported by most actors (Messerli et al., 2019). Methodologies such as Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) based on multi-attribute value theory (Keeney & Raiffa, 1993) and value-focused thinking (Keeney, 1992) were developed to address multi-dimensional problems, involving multiple actors in an uncertain world. With progresses in ICT, some decision analysts digitalized MCDA-supported processes (Mustajoki & Hämäläinen, 2000; Philpot et al., 2022; Vieira et al., 2020).

However, to date, despite some advantages, online participation of actors through specifically designed interfaces presents risks compared to face-to-face participation (Aubert et al., 2020). For instance, it is unclear whether respondents grasp the methods and remain focused during the long and tedious online surveys. Thus, some doubt that the collected data reliably represent the respondents’ opinions. Further research needs to empirically demonstrate the benefit of the digital transformation for participatory decision-making.

With the DIZH Fellowship, I will contribute to empirically investigating the benefit of a digital tool for preference elicitation to support participatory societal decision-making processes. Specifically, the open-source ValuePreferences tool (Aubert & Masson, 2021) will be empirically tested in a series of real-world decision-making with practice stakeholders. ValuePreferences (ValPref) enables to create online surveys to elicit actors’ preferences, among others how they relatively give importance to the different dimensions of an issue. Thanks to ValPref, the citizens can share how they address the trade-offs between the multiple dimensions of sustainable development.

Many IUNR projects are based on case studies including participatory approaches for sustainable development. Independently of the domain, e.g., food system transformation, renewable energies, or circularity of nutrients, these case studies require addressing trade-offs. An example of trade-off occurring in transforming food systems is between the objectives of high affordability of nutritious food for all consumers and high living wages for the producers. Another trade-off example from the energy sector can be high local production against low landscape impact. In such cases, citizens are directly affected and involving them in the decision-making is meant to ease smooth implementation of the solutions decided upon.

Using ValPref in such cases from IUNR projects, citizens will inform on their trade-off preferences. They will also answer follow-up questionnaires about usability and the three types of learning for informed decision-making (namely, learning facts, constructing preferences, and understanding value-focused thinking) (Aubert & Lienert, 2019). Usability and learning are the dependent variables used to empirically assess ValPref. The targeted sample size is about 200 respondents, composed of actors locally affected by the case studies‘ decisions. Given the local aspect of the case studies, the cumulative approach across case studies is needed to reach such a sample size. Recruitment of respondents will depend on the case study. ValPref can also be used in (group) face-to-face interventions to visualize the preference elicitation process. This use was so far not tested, and will also be considered depending on the case study needs and setting.

I foresee three levels of added-value of my DIZH Fellowship. First, through repeated use with many diverse actors, ValPref improvements needs will be identified. Further developments towards a user-friendly product will be identified. Second, I will establish the topical theme of trade-offs in sustainable development at the Institute UNR and ZHAW, and propose a theory-based methodology and a tool to address it. Finally, supporting real-world local decisions about sustainable development, the fellowship will transform society at the scale of the case studies: the democratic decision processes for local sustainable development will be digitalized. The collected preferences will either inform the choice between several solutions or influence politicians, who would develop solutions targeting the dimensions considered as most important by most citizens.

Innovative digital tools need to go beyond the realm of academia to the real-world. Accordingly, my proposal focuses on ensuring that society takes-up an existing software. Empirical assessment in case studies should prove its usefulness and advertise it: it should enable broad citizenry participation, at low time and cost demand.