30 researchers and practitioners (list of participants:  PPMC-list of participants gathered to exchange on the various methodology of participatory modeling and the specific challenges raise for such methodology in multi-scale context. The program can be downloaded here: PPMC workshop Program

Rational of the workshop

Participatory modeling (PM here after) has become a popular way to support adaptive management of rural socio-ecological system by integrating multiple viewpoints and exploring desirable scenarios for sustainable development. More recently, PM approaches have been applied to think the link between local and regional levels in the context of decentralization of natural resource management. Addressing the multi-scale aspects of the context raise key challenges that directly question the reasons to engage and the means used into PM process. This workshop aims at discussing these issues with practitioners and scientists of various PM approaches.

Organization of the workshop

The workshop initiative comes from the ComMod¹ research group, which has a long history of innovating in and analyzing PM. As more and more case studies address multi-scale dynamics and multiple arenas, the group wanted to exchange with other communities of practice, such as Strategic Environmental Assessment or Macro Policy Sustainability Assessment, on the specific issues that such context raises.

This workshop aims for an audience including researchers and practitioners to get a diversity of questions and viewpoints on the subject. Thus, it was organized in association with the first Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD² ). The GCARD invites agricultural practitioners and researchers to define new ways to partnership and to change paradigm “from a linear view to a multidimensional and more collective, multi-actor view”, in order to improve the impact of agricultural research on development. The first day of the workshop was one of the 14 visits offered to the GCARD participants.

The first morning of the workshop introduces the diversity of approaches thanks to invited talks:

• A. Voinov, Participatory modeling - what, why and how?  PPMC-Introduction D1- A. Voinov
• A Smajgl, Challenging decision makers’ beliefs across multiple tiers of governance : PPMC-Talk D1- A. Smajgl
• M. Antona & M. Etienne, ComMod - Companion modeling : stakes and insights on multilevel governance : PPMC-Talk D1- M. Antona & M. Etienne
• N. Ferrand & K. Daniell, Multi-level participatory modeling for integrated planning and water management : PPMC-Talk D1- K. Daniell & N. Ferrand

A “tool bazaar” gives the opportunity to go further in details on ten case studies of participatory modeling and an E-learning experiment, during the first afternoon: PPMC-the tool bazaar

The second day aims at exchanging and producing ideas about multi-scale aspects. Two round-tables of experts are organized in the morning and from the resulting debate, three working groups gather during the last afternoon, to debate and make suggestions of collective project on the following objects:

• WG1: participatory methodology and ethics
• WG2: new technologies and tools in and for PM research
• WG3: role of simulation in participation and vice-versa

WG1 proposed an article, WG2, a website, and WG3, subjects to debate in two conference sessions.

¹ Group of researchers that has develop the Companion Modeling approach (c.f. http://www.commod.org/ ) 

² http://www.agropolis.fr/actualites/gcard-2010.php