Case Study

Lake Ontario St Lawrence River Study

Lessons Learned

A primary focus within the Lake Ontario Study has been to utilize an iterative planning process. PFEG has developed several versions of the shared vision model allowing one version to evolve into the next based on feedback from the TWGs, PIAG and the Study Board. Further, several times throughout the study, PFEG has facilitated decision workshops. These workshops have varied in content and format, but the basic idea has been to guide the Study Board through decision exercises based on whatever data and modeling existed at the time. In other words, the Study Board considered existing information at the time, deliberated, and decided what its recommendations would be if the study had ended at that time.

This has been done for a variety of reasons. One reason is that the amount of information that has to be considered is extensive. The research being conducted is new and it takes a lot of effort to become familiar with all of it. Using an iterative process allows the Study Board and other participants in the study to learn about the research more fully. And it also forces the Board to consider the research results in a decision context, which helps them recognize if there are problems such as missing pieces (things they care about that aren't being studied) or useless results (things they don’t care about that are being studied). 

Another reason this iterative process is helpful is that it helps the Board, stakeholders and PIAG form their opinions slowly. Typically, people don’t know exactly what they think or how they will decide. Simply providing decision-makers with mountains of data at the end of the study and hoping they will be able to pick the “best” option is unrealistic. By taking the board and other participants through many “draft” decisions over several years, they begin to gain more confidence in their understanding of the issues and become better able to make truly informed decisions. Based on early decision workshops, the Board decided that it needed some framework for evaluating water management options. They developed “Guiding Principles,” which describe their agreed upon priorities and objectives. These Guiding Principles were then used by PFEG to shape the way modeling results were presented to the Board. Using the Principles to guide subsequent “draft” decisions made the board realize that they needed to revise the Guiding Principles. This process has continued and will conclude with a decision workshop.

Overview | Objectives | Stakeholders | Results | Lessons Learned | Printable(All Sections)

Reviewed 13 Feb 2009

Overview

Objectives

Stakeholders

Results

Lessons Learned

Printable(All Sections)

International Lake Ontario - St. Lawrence River Study web site