Decision support experiments and evaluations using seasonal to ...

The U.S. Climate Change Science Program Chapter 3
Limited stakeholder
participation and
political influence
in decision-making
processes means
that decision-support
products may not
equitably penetrate to
all relevant audiences.
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means that information generated by decisionsupport
networks must be communicated to
various audiences in ways relevant to their roles
and responsibilities (Section 3.2.1). Figure 3.2
and discussion of the factors that led to development
of better decision support for flood hazard
alleviation on the Red River of the North reveal
how extreme environmental conditions compound
the challenge in conveying information
to different audiences given the dislocation and
conflict that may arise.
Third, limited stakeholder participation and political
influence in decision-making processes
means that decision-support products may not
equitably penetrate to all relevant audiences.
It also means that because water issues typically
have low visibility for most of the public,
the economic and environmental dislocations
caused by climate variability events (e.g.,
drought, floods), or even climate change, may
exacerbate these inequities and draw sudden,
sharp attention to the problems resulting from
failure to properly integrate decision-support
models and forecast tools, since disasters often
strike disadvantaged populations dispropor-
Figure 3.2 Water resources decision processes.
tionately (e.g., Hurricane Katrina in 2005)
(Hartmann et al., 2002; Carbone and Dow,
2005; Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction,
2005; Leatherman and White, 2005).
Fourth, the lack of adequate cross-disciplinary
interaction between science, engineering, public
policy-making, and other knowledge and
expertise sectors, as well as across agencies,
academic institutions, and private sector organizations,
exacerbates these problems by making
it difficult for decision-support information
providers to communicate with one another.
It also exacerbates the problem of information
overload by inhibiting use of incremental
additional tools, the sources and benefits of
which are unclear to the user. In short, certain
current decision-support services are often narrowly
focused, developed by over-specialized
professionals working in a “stovepipe” system
of communication within their organizations.
While lack of integration can undermine the
effectiveness of decision-support tools and
impede optimal decisions, it may create opportunities
for design, development and use of
effective decision-support services.