Example from practice : participation in the evaluation of uncertainty communication and worldviews

Abstract

Participation in the evaluation of uncertainty communication and worldviews Two eye-catching products of the MNP are the Evironmental Balance and the Sustainabiltiy Outlook. The MNP was faced with a number of questions concerning the methodology and presentation of information in these reports. For the Environmental Balance the issue was the communication of uncertainties and for the Sustainability Outlook the issue was the use and interpretation of a set of four 'worldviews'. To fi nd answers to our questions we held several workshops in the Policy Lab of Utrecht University (projects contracted out to the Copernicus Institute). The policy lab is a meeting room with computers that run Group Decision Support software, which makes possible the structuring and facilitation of workshops. Different groups of participants were invited, such as scientists, students, policymakers, stakeholders from industry and NGOs and opinion leaders. Together with these people we assessed the current practice of uncertainty communication in the Environmental Balance and the use and interpretation of worldviews in the Sustainability Outlook. We gathered ideas on how these practices could be improved.