Towards an ecosystem based port design process: lessons learnt from Tema Port, Ghana

Connecting to the trend of harmonization of port developments with nature, this paper presents a framework for the explicit inclusion of ecosystem based alternatives in the early planning and design stages of seaport developments. The framework aims to shift the focus from offsetting environmental impacts afterwards to avoidance and reduction of...

Contested issues game structuring approach - CIGAS workshop Houston report, results and reflection: Exploring stakeholder-based joint commitment to action for flood protection decision-making in the Houston Galveston Bay Area

CIGAS stands for Contested Issues Game Structuring Approach. CIGAS is a practice developed specifically for contested environments, which strives to enhance participant’s insight by means of game structuring and system modeling techniques. Within this practice participants are understood to have different interests and values. The purpose is...

Using System Dynamics to Explore the Water Supply and Demand Dilemmas of a Small South African Municipality

This paper explores the challenges faced by small municipalities in providing water services in a developing-world context of increasing urban demand. The paper uses a case study of the Sundays River Valley Municipality (SRVM) in South Africa. The municipality faces multiple dilemmas in reconciling its available water supply with growing demand...

A knowledge intervention to explore stakeholders’ understanding of a dynamic coastal nature reserve

As quantitative modelling can be used to build stakeholder understanding for management decisions, and can help build consensus (Stave, 2003), a system dynamics modelling study of the abiotic dynamics of an archetypical small estuary, the Slufter in the Netherlands is formulated. The model is used in combination with an analysis of stakeholders’...

Addressing stakeholder conflicts in rural South Africa using a water supply model

A system dynamics modelling approach is adopted to deepen understanding of the effects of operational management on the performance of the Greater Kirkwood water supply system in South Africa. Currently, the interrupted operation of the system has led to perceptions of systemic social injustice on the part of citizens and contention between the...

Competence formation and post-graduate education in the public water sector in Indonesia

The water sector is dependent on effective institutions and organisations, and, therefore, on strong competences at the individual level. In this paper we describe competence formation and competence needs in a case study of the Directorate General of Water Resources (DGWR) in the Ministry of Public Works in Indonesia. A framework is introduced...

A system dynamics mode-based exploratory analysis of salt water intrusion in coastal aquifers

Coastal communities dependent upon groundwater resources for drinking water and irrigation are vulnerable to salinization of the groundwater reserve. The increasing uncertainty associated with changing climatic conditions, population and economic development, and technological advances poses significant challenges for freshwater management. The...

Drawing lines in the sand: The evolution of Dutch coastal policy

Strategies to combat salt water intrusion in coastal aquifers: A model-based exploratory analysis

Coastal communities dependent upon groundwater resources for drinking water and irrigation are vulnerable to salinization of the groundwater reserve. The increasing uncertainty associated with changing climatic conditions, population and economic development, and technological advances in agriculture, water treatment, and water purification,...

The governance of large dams: A new research area

Our current familiarity with large infrastructures, the place they hold in the landscape and the roles they play in modern living combine to make us lose sight of their long-term, system-wide effects. In this paper, the action of the large infrastructures of dams in structuring both the biophysical and the societal environment in which they...

Essential Skills for System Dynamics Practitioners: A Delft University of Technology Perspective

There is little consensus on the skills set required of a system dynamics practitioner. In this paper we use the teaching approach and learning goals of the system dynamics courses at the Delft University of Technology as a starting point to explore the development of system dynamics modeling skills. System dynamics is embedded in the curriculum...

The Practice of Transboundary Decision Making on the Incomati River: Elucidating Underlying Factors and their Implications for Institutional Design

The Incomati River Basin is shared by Mozambique, South Africa, and Swaziland. In August 2002, the groundbreaking “Tripartite Interim Agreement on Water Sharing of the Maputo and Incomati Rivers” (the IncoMaputo agreement) was signed. Following reports that the use, availability, and adequacy of information posed problems for future decision...

Communicating model insights using interactive learning environments

Much attention is focused on the rational and advisory style of developing and applying System Dynamics models. Even group model building focuses primarily on the formulation and understanding of the model by the group members themselves. There is a dearth of attention for communication of the insights derived during the model building process...

Expectations of Formal Model Analysis Methods: Implications for SIG-MA

At the 2008 System Dynamics Conference in Athens a survey of the understanding and expectations of conference participants regarding model analysis was conducted. Respondents included both those active in research on formal model analysis methods and those only vaguely familiar with the term. Results from the survey are presented and discussed...

Hop, Step, Step and Jump: Towards Real-World Complexity @ Delft University of Technology

This paper deals with System Dynamics education at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. It focuses more specifically on the quadruple jump approach towards dealing with real-world dynamic complexity. The paper starts with an overview of the System Dynamics courses, situated within the broader curriculum. Then recent innovations in...

Does learning to reflect make better modelers?

In this paper we address the role of reflective skills in the development and training of new System Dynamics modelers at the tertiary education level. Over the last two years students at the Delft University of Technology have written a reflective essay on their experiences with the conceptualization, formulation, validation and use of a System...

Exploring local knowledge of the flooding risk of the Scheldt Estuary

Investigating an automated method for the sensitivity analysis of functions

Automated sensitivity analysis approaches in system dynamics focus primarily on model parameters. Although table functions are often subjectively approximated, they do not form the focus of most sensitivity analyses. Recently, a promising approach that allows automation of sensitivity analysis on functions was proposed by Hearne (2010), but the...