Harnessing model-based group decision support systems for more effective stakeholder engagement: Reflections from the field

Stakeholder engagement is an integral component of active and participatory decision-making, enabling robust outcomes to be delivered and facilitating organisations in gaining and retaining a social license to operate. However, engaging stakeholders requires methods that realise these benefits whils...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ackermann, Fran, Clifton, Julian, Burton, Michael, Elrick-Barr, Carmen, Harvey, Euan, Hill, Georgie, Zimmerhackel, Johanna
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier 2025
Online Access:Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/97507
_version_ 1848766285944455168
author Ackermann, Fran
Clifton, Julian
Burton, Michael
Elrick-Barr, Carmen
Harvey, Euan
Hill, Georgie
Zimmerhackel, Johanna
author_facet Ackermann, Fran
Clifton, Julian
Burton, Michael
Elrick-Barr, Carmen
Harvey, Euan
Hill, Georgie
Zimmerhackel, Johanna
author_sort Ackermann, Fran
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Stakeholder engagement is an integral component of active and participatory decision-making, enabling robust outcomes to be delivered and facilitating organisations in gaining and retaining a social license to operate. However, engaging stakeholders requires methods that realise these benefits whilst avoiding common pitfalls such as tokenism, selective participation, and stakeholder fatigue amongst others. This paper reports on an approach to identify stakeholder perspectives on the socio-economic values associated with decommissioning of Australian offshore oil and gas structures in a manner that enabled a holistic understanding of these values. This involved combining causal mapping with group decision support system technology, allowing a complex range of views to be explored whilst reducing pressures for conformity. The results demonstrate how such a method can ensure transparency and facilitate knowledge sharing between stakeholders, whilst also underlining the significance of a systemic approach to understanding the heterogeneity of stakeholder views. These process outcomes provide policy-makers with insights into the complexities of perceived issues and opportunities associated with offshore decommissioning and an approach that enables a nuanced understanding of these and related grand challenges to be incorporated into marine policy.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T11:48:43Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-97507
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T11:48:43Z
publishDate 2025
publisher Elsevier
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-975072025-06-04T01:16:36Z Harnessing model-based group decision support systems for more effective stakeholder engagement: Reflections from the field Ackermann, Fran Clifton, Julian Burton, Michael Elrick-Barr, Carmen Harvey, Euan Hill, Georgie Zimmerhackel, Johanna Stakeholder engagement is an integral component of active and participatory decision-making, enabling robust outcomes to be delivered and facilitating organisations in gaining and retaining a social license to operate. However, engaging stakeholders requires methods that realise these benefits whilst avoiding common pitfalls such as tokenism, selective participation, and stakeholder fatigue amongst others. This paper reports on an approach to identify stakeholder perspectives on the socio-economic values associated with decommissioning of Australian offshore oil and gas structures in a manner that enabled a holistic understanding of these values. This involved combining causal mapping with group decision support system technology, allowing a complex range of views to be explored whilst reducing pressures for conformity. The results demonstrate how such a method can ensure transparency and facilitate knowledge sharing between stakeholders, whilst also underlining the significance of a systemic approach to understanding the heterogeneity of stakeholder views. These process outcomes provide policy-makers with insights into the complexities of perceived issues and opportunities associated with offshore decommissioning and an approach that enables a nuanced understanding of these and related grand challenges to be incorporated into marine policy. 2025 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/97507 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.107658 Fisheries Research and Development Corporation http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Elsevier fulltext
spellingShingle Ackermann, Fran
Clifton, Julian
Burton, Michael
Elrick-Barr, Carmen
Harvey, Euan
Hill, Georgie
Zimmerhackel, Johanna
Harnessing model-based group decision support systems for more effective stakeholder engagement: Reflections from the field
title Harnessing model-based group decision support systems for more effective stakeholder engagement: Reflections from the field
title_full Harnessing model-based group decision support systems for more effective stakeholder engagement: Reflections from the field
title_fullStr Harnessing model-based group decision support systems for more effective stakeholder engagement: Reflections from the field
title_full_unstemmed Harnessing model-based group decision support systems for more effective stakeholder engagement: Reflections from the field
title_short Harnessing model-based group decision support systems for more effective stakeholder engagement: Reflections from the field
title_sort harnessing model-based group decision support systems for more effective stakeholder engagement: reflections from the field
url Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/97507