Participatory Companion Modeling

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). 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).