position or institutional mandate, their ability to create ties with other stakeholder
groups and their availability and involvement.
The roles stakeholders can play in the process may vary significantly, but may
include knowledge holders, fund providers, institutional decision-makers, as well
as third parties or intermediaries in negotiations or conflict resolution processes.
Depending on the issue to be addressed and the objectives of the project, specific
roles will be defined, and this will have a bearing on the choice of stakeholders. For
example, if the question or issue to be addressed concerns the functioning of a
system, knowledge holders will be more sought after; however, if the issue is more
concerned with the establishment of priorities among different prospective scenarios,
the participation of institutional stakeholders seems particularly appropriate.
How are conflicts among the stakeholders to be addressed? In most potential
conflict situations, resolution efforts involve inviting the stakeholders that are either
directly affected by or very closely involved in the conflict to take part in a
collaborative conflict resolution process. The objective here is to promote exchange
among stakeholders from different role categories, so that they may share their roles
through the modeling process. In certain cases, it may be particularly useful to
involve another actor or group of actors, who, thanks to their status, their relationship with the others or the information they possess
• Play a third party role, that is, do not act as referees, but as actors who can
reformulate the issue to make it less contentious or help find an understanding
among the parties (for an example, see Gurung et al. 2006), and
• Shift the boundaries separating the stakeholders and; therefore, reshape the
special interest groups in a way that makes their interaction less prone to conflict
(for an example, see Etienne et al. 2008).
In the specific case of Mae La Ngun, a third stakeholder (the TAO chairman)
worked alongside the two other special interest groups in the companion modeling
workshops, but was unable to play the role of a third party in the process, as (1) he
was involved in a conflict with one of the parties, and (2) was thus perceived by this
party to be taking the side of one of the opposing camps.
Outcome of the Modeling Exercise
The outcomes of a companion modeling exercise are primarily qualitative in nature.
The quality of the process, that is, the quality of exchanges among stakeholders, is
emphasized more than the generation of quantitative results (ComMod 2009).
These exchanges relate to the sharing of knowledge, an improved understanding
among actors with different perspectives and interests, and a better consideration of
various uncertainties. Nevertheless, this way of expressing results is not always
easily understood or integrated by local stakeholders or decision-makers, as they
are more used to tangible results which are easier to use, such as cost-benefit
analyses, and which help them choose between different planning options. The
implementation of a quality control process can help assess the outcomes of a
340
A. Neef et al.
groups and their availability and involvement.
The roles stakeholders can play in the process may vary significantly, but may
include knowledge holders, fund providers, institutional decision-makers, as well
as third parties or intermediaries in negotiations or conflict resolution processes.
Depending on the issue to be addressed and the objectives of the project, specific
roles will be defined, and this will have a bearing on the choice of stakeholders. For
example, if the question or issue to be addressed concerns the functioning of a
system, knowledge holders will be more sought after; however, if the issue is more
concerned with the establishment of priorities among different prospective scenarios,
the participation of institutional stakeholders seems particularly appropriate.
How are conflicts among the stakeholders to be addressed? In most potential
conflict situations, resolution efforts involve inviting the stakeholders that are either
directly affected by or very closely involved in the conflict to take part in a
collaborative conflict resolution process. The objective here is to promote exchange
among stakeholders from different role categories, so that they may share their roles
through the modeling process. In certain cases, it may be particularly useful to
involve another actor or group of actors, who, thanks to their status, their relationship with the others or the information they possess
• Play a third party role, that is, do not act as referees, but as actors who can
reformulate the issue to make it less contentious or help find an understanding
among the parties (for an example, see Gurung et al. 2006), and
• Shift the boundaries separating the stakeholders and; therefore, reshape the
special interest groups in a way that makes their interaction less prone to conflict
(for an example, see Etienne et al. 2008).
In the specific case of Mae La Ngun, a third stakeholder (the TAO chairman)
worked alongside the two other special interest groups in the companion modeling
workshops, but was unable to play the role of a third party in the process, as (1) he
was involved in a conflict with one of the parties, and (2) was thus perceived by this
party to be taking the side of one of the opposing camps.
Outcome of the Modeling Exercise
The outcomes of a companion modeling exercise are primarily qualitative in nature.
The quality of the process, that is, the quality of exchanges among stakeholders, is
emphasized more than the generation of quantitative results (ComMod 2009).
These exchanges relate to the sharing of knowledge, an improved understanding
among actors with different perspectives and interests, and a better consideration of
various uncertainties. Nevertheless, this way of expressing results is not always
easily understood or integrated by local stakeholders or decision-makers, as they
are more used to tangible results which are easier to use, such as cost-benefit
analyses, and which help them choose between different planning options. The
implementation of a quality control process can help assess the outcomes of a
340
A. Neef et al.