Table 8.1 Strengths and weaknesses of DSSs and DSTs
Examples | Short description | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
GIS platforms (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS) | GIS are systems and tools designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographic data, including local knowledge, and to display and analyze interactions between datasets (Goodchild 2010). They provide users with access to regulatory, spatial, and temporal information outputs (Edwards and Evans 2017) | (1) GIS allows straightforward data integration including local knowledge through cartographic conventions | (1) Advanced skills and expertise are still required to use these tools in full capacity |
(2) GIS programs allow Indigenous users to work interactively with models and data, as well as to conduct spatial queries based on certain criteria and Indigenous priorities | (2) GIS platforms have very limited ways to deal with nonspatial data, such as narratives | ||
(3) GIS programs have tools that allow for defining and visualizing cultural values | (3) GIS platforms have limited capabilities in terms of dealing with dynamic/changing seasonal data, including representations of the sea ice dynamics | ||
Marxan | Marxan contains a suite of spatial analysis tools, and it is the most widely used decision support software to help decision-makers find reasonably efficient solutions for conservation planning issues (Ardron et al. 2008). Marxan combines socioeconomic and ecological data, and has been widely used for designing marine protected areas (Van Kouwen et al. 2007) | (1) Marxan and Marxan with Zones can deal with a variety of data, including socioeconomic data and local knowledge | (1) The process of scenario building using algorithms is so abstract that it is often viewed as obscure and dismissed by nonexperts |
(2) They can enhance transparency in decision-making processes | (2) Marxan is limited in terms of incorporating data that cannot be quantified | ||
(3) They provide complex analytical and scenario-building tools based on management targets | |||
SeaSketch | SeaSketch is a service-based online software platform (McClintock and Gordon 2015). It supports map-based discussions and has been used for marine spatial planning initiatives at various scales, for a variety of purposes, and for engaging all types of users and stakeholders (McClintock 2013) | (1) Easy for users to use through online platform | (1) Requires certain level of technical skills to use the online platform |
(2) Easy access to data | (2) Requires considerable funding for continued access and use | ||
(3) Incorporates diverse data and ideas from user groups and stakeholders | (3) Requires reliable Internet connection | ||
(4) Can provide immediate analytical feedback | |||
(5) Advanced collaboration and engagement tools for users and stakeholders | |||
(6) Allows for remote participation through the online platform | |||
DESYCO | DEcision support SYstem for COastal climate change impact assessment (DESYCO) is a DSS system developed in Italy for water resource management. DESYCO is a multidisciplinary DSS for analyzing risks and biophysical and socioeconomic impacts on a regional scale. It is designed particularly to facilitate engagement by means of end users’ analysis and collection of preferences (Santoro et al. 2013) | (1) Recognizes users’ or stakeholders’ control of the decision-making process | (1) Large resources devoted to comprehensive stakeholder engagement |
(2) Integrated assessment and management on a regional scale | (2) Hazard scenarios are developed by numerical models and statistical analysis which require high degree of technical skill and research capacity | ||
(3) Multi-criteria decision analysis to balance differing priorities | |||
Nunaliit Atlas Framework | The Nunaliit Atlas Framework aims to facilitate storytelling and participatory mapping, allowing for the use of different forms of information from a variety of sources, using maps as a central way to connect and interact with the data (GCRC 2018) | (1) Simple for users to use | (1) Acts as a visualization and data collection tool and is not a DST per se |
(2) Permits web-users to contribute additions and make changes | (2) Requires Internet access and basic software operational skills | ||
(3) Designed particularly for Indigenous knowledge | |||
(4) Able to store text-based attributes | |||
(5) Deals well with narratives by allowing multimedia objects on a map |