Harnessing model-based group decision support systems for more effective stakeholder engagement: Reflections from the field

Abstract

Stakeholder engagement is an integral component of active and participatory decision-making, enabling robust outcomes to be delivered and facilitating organisations in gaining and retaining a social license to operate. However, engaging stakeholders requires methods that realise these benefits whilst avoiding common pitfalls such as tokenism, selective participation, and stakeholder fatigue amongst others. This paper reports on an approach to identify stakeholder perspectives on the socio-economic values associated with decommissioning of Australian offshore oil and gas structures in a manner that enabled a holistic understanding of these values. This involved combining causal mapping with group decision support system technology, allowing a complex range of views to be explored whilst reducing pressures for conformity. The results demonstrate how such a method can ensure transparency and facilitate knowledge sharing between stakeholders, whilst also underlining the significance of a systemic approach to understanding the heterogeneity of stakeholder views. These process outcomes provide policy-makers with insights into the complexities of perceived issues and opportunities associated with offshore decommissioning and an approach that enables a nuanced understanding of these and related grand challenges to be incorporated into marine policy.