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Companion Modelling

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Applications (why, when & where)

ComMod is a variation of mutli-agent systems modelling. The main principle of the companion modeling (ComMod) approach is to develop simulation models integrating various stakeholders’ points of view and to use them within the context of the stakeholders’ platform for collective learning. This is a modeling approach in which stakeholders participate fully in the construction of models to improve their relevance and increase their use for the collective assessment of scenarios. The general objective of ComMod is to facilitate dialogue, shared learning, and collective decision making through interdisciplinary and “implicated” research to strengthen the adaptive management capacity of local communities. By using such an approach, we expect to be in a better position to deal with the increased complexity of integrated natural resource management (INRM) problems, their evolving and continuous characteristics, and the increased rapidity of evolutions and changes in number of stakeholders (Gurung, et al., 2006).

Brief description

ComMod is a cyclic process of three stages that can be repeated as many times as needed:

• Field investigations and a literature search to help generate explicit hypotheses for modeling.
• Modeling, i.e., the conversion of existing knowledge into a formal tool to be used as a simulator.
• Simulations, conducted according to an experimental protocol either on a computer or through a role-playing game (RPG), to challenge the former understanding of the system and to identify new key questions for new focused investigations in the field.

The resulting mutli-agent systems model can be implemented either through a computerized model or through a role playing game. We named this process “companion modeling” because it is used in the mediation process (the social dimension of the companion) and it co-evolves with this social process (temporal and adaptive dimensions) (Gurung, et al., 2006).

Spatial scale

Multiple scales (local village to basin scale)

Complexity

Moderately complex.

For those applying the tool:

For participants:

Outcomes

• Diagnostic of action taken
• M&E

Issues

How to balance power interests within stakeholder groups.

Resources

Time:

Human resources:

Costing:

Origins and history

Several approaches for supporting the collective management of ecosystems, such as adaptive management (Holling, 1978, Walters and Hilborn, 1978) and co-management (Berkes, 1997; Borrini-Feyerabend, et al., 2000), have been developed in the recent past. These approaches recognize that management does not only consist of understanding the state of the ecosystem and its dynamics, but it also deals with the social process leading to this ecological state and the social processes that may lead to other states. In other words, what is important are the solutions emerging from interactions among the different stakeholders. And with them comes a different portfolio of interventions, including mediation to resolve conflicts, facilitation of learning, and participatory approaches that involve people in negotiating collective action. The relationships between simulation models and collective decision making in natural resource management occupy a large part of the literature on adaptive management (Holling 1978, Walters and Hilborn 1978).

However, the model is often a biophysical one, and few papers (Abel 1999, Costanza and Ruth, 1998, Lynam, et al., 2002) mention the participation of stakeholders from different organizational levels in the modeling steps (from conceptualization to scenario simulation). Participatory geographic information systems (GIS) have demonstrated the ability of many illiterate people to use high-tech tools (Gonzalez 2000).

This paper presents the use of a multi-agent systems (MAS) model to facilitate negotiation between conflicting stakeholders in a Bhutanese watershed, leading to the creation of a formal institution. This model was conceptualized and discussed with the stakeholders according to a methodology called “companion modeling (Gurung, et al., 2006).

Conditions for use and dissemination

None.

Contacts

Geraldine Abrami IRSTEA [geraldine.abrami@irstea.fr]

Learn more about this topic

Reference

Visit the ComMod website (English) [[1]]

Visit the ComMod website (French) [[2]]

Read CPWF Mekong blog posts on companion modelling at [[3]]

References

Gurung, T. R., Bousquet, F. and Trébuil, G. 2006. Companion modeling, conflict resolution, and institution building: sharing irrigation water in the Lingmuteychu Watershed, Bhutan. Ecology and Society, 11(2): 36. Accessed 23 December, 2013 at [[4]]