Abstract for: Using Decision-making Scripts in Group Model Building Workshops

Group model building (GMB) workshops, as a participatory method for involving stakeholders, emphasise the interactive engagement process with stakeholders. GMB workshops are demonstrated as being useful to facilitate communication, commitment, and users’ insights about the system. However, models, simulated or not, are limitedly adopted and thus have a limited impact on participants’ decision-making. Also, to what extent do GMB workshops support decision-making is limited investigated. One approach to further explore and advance GMB workshop’s role in supporting decision-making and increase model adoption is to rethink the designing and structuring of scripts, which are basic elements of GMB workshops. This paper first reviews the history of the development of the script. The review suggests that existing GMB workshop scripts often focus on system mapping, resulting in restrained space to explore decision alternatives in workshops. Then two decision-making scripts drawing from organisational decision-making theories are proposed. Proposed scripts are planned to be tested through a case study with a UK-based non-profit housing association to investigate the impacts. Future work will evaluate how proposed decision-making scripts can be used in the GMB workshops to support decision-making.