ALEXANDRIA, VA – July 14, 2011. Converging Waters: Integrating Collaborative Modeling with Participatory Processes to Make Water Resources Decisions, the newest book in the IWR Maass-White Publication series, has been published.
The book provides a touchstone in the development of collaborative modeling for decision support, an approach to decision-making where parties negotiate agreements by communicating through a mutually developed and accepted computer simulation model. The approach supports decision making, promotes group learning, improves dialogue among technical and political actors, encourages competing interests to identify trade-offs, and encourages negotiations among interests.
The book, commissioned by IWR, includes chapters written by authors from within and outside government. These chapters define and describe the approach, offer case studies illustrating its application, and examine challenges and opportunities for improving water resources planning through its use.
In his foreword, IWR Director Bob Pietrowsky notes that “this book, with its focus on the opportunity that lies at the intersection of scientific/technical advances and procedural/social interchange, provides a useful stepping stone in the evolving path of water resources management.” The book builds on documentation previously available in alternative dispute resolution, Shared Vision Planning, and related areas, and complements other work recently underway.
The book is available in paperback through the U.S. Government Printing Office’s bookstore (www.gpo.gov).
Learn More