trends and future of sustainable development - TransEco

2. Overview of the SMILE toolkitThe Synergies of Multi-Level Integrated Linkages in Eco-social Systems (SMILE) project seeks toimplement a set of models from the ongoing DECOIN project. The DECOIN tool kit (http://www.smilefp7.eu/deliverables/SMILE%20D3.pdf)consists of three bio-economic accounting methods that work atmultiple levels over time, to illustrate trajectories of development. It focuses on the concept of socialmetabolism that draws attention to how energy, material, money and ideas are utilised by society. Thefirst, ASA (Advanced Sustainability Analysis); will not be discussed as it is not being applied in our casestudy. The other two are MUSIASEM (Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis Societal Ecosystem Metabolism)and SUMMA (Sustainability Multi-criteria Multi-scale Assessment). MUSIASEM calculates relationshipsbetween extensive variables (stocks) of land and human labour, which create flows of money, energy andmaterials expressed in intensity ratios (Giampietro & Mayumi, 2000). SUMMA is an empirically basedset of co-efficients that also consider how stocks create, and are created by, flows of money, energy andmaterials through the system. These flows are expressed as emergy to illustrate the embodied energyand materials being utilised by the system (Brown & Ulgiati, 2004). SUMMA and MUSIASEM wereapplied at the Scotland (N+1), Cairngorms (N) and within-Cairngorms (N-1) level. SUMMA wasspecifically applied to the agricultural sector, whilst MUSIASEM was applied to the whole system. Formore information on results regarding growth; trade-offs; and policy implications see reports D28 – 30(available http://www.smile-fp7.eu/?id=deliverables).Figure 2.Interpretation of Rosen’s Modelling TheoryAlthough there was detailed information on how to apply SUMMA, there was no informationprovided for using the tool with stakeholders within specific institutional contexts. The MUSIASEMdevelopers did not provide explicit guidance on the procedures for implementing the tool. Using Rosen’s(1978) principles of modelling, we constructed a procedural diagram (Figure 2), that illustrates the needto close the loop between the outputs of the formal model and the perceptions of the system expressedby stakeholders. Whilst both tools advise carrying out this step, there is little explanation of how to dothis stage compared to the detailed guidance on the formal modelling procedures.57