Page 255 -

254 O. Barreteau et al.

Why Read This Chapter?
To help you understand how one might involve stakeholders in all stages of the
modelling process. This approach allows for including stakeholders’ expertise as
well as giving them more control over the process.

12.1 Introduction

In this chapter, social simulation is cross-examined with a currently very active trend
in policymaking: participation or stakeholder involvement. This cross-examination
has two main outputs: the development of tools and methods to improve or facilitate
participation and the development of more grounded simulation models through par-
ticipatory modelling. Technological development provides new devices to facilitate
interaction around simulation models: from the phase of conceptual design to that
of practical use. In many fields there is a growing requirement from stakeholders
and the public to become more actively involved in policymaking and to be aware
of probable changing trends due to global policy decisions. New tools and methods
related to social simulation have started to be made available for this purpose such
as many group decision support systems which use computer simulation, including
potentially social items components, to facilitate communication to formulate and
solve problems collectively (DeSanctis and Gallupe 1987; Shakun 1996; Whitworth
et al. 2000). In addition, simulation of social complexity occurs in models whose
validation and suitability depend on their close fit to society, as well as on their
acceptability by it. These issues are tackled through the use of participatory
modelling, such as group model building (Vennix 1996) or participatory agent-based
simulations (Bousquet et al. 1999; Guyot and Honiden 2006;Mossetal. 2000;
Pahl-Wostl and Hare 2004; Ramanath and Gilbert 2004). The topic is also related
to participatory design as it is a means of involving end users of computer systems
in their design, including social simulations focussed ones (Schuler and Namioka
1993).
Group decision support as well as participatory modelling stems from the
interactions between simulation models and participants. There is a diversity of
ways through which these interactions might take place. They are related to
the diversity of approaches to simulate society or to organise participation. It is
important to make the choices made for these interactions explicit: for distinction
between approaches to be possible, to provide the opportunity for stakeholders to
discuss the process and for them to be prepared to be involved in. There is a need
to go further than the development of tools as they are liable to create filters that
reshape the understanding of social complexity. Description of the mechanisms
behind interactions is a way to qualify the potential effects of these interactions.
This chapter aims to describe the diversity of participatory approaches in relation
to social simulations, with a focus on the interactions between the tools and
participants. This overview is limited to simulation models. Model is considered
here as a representation of shared knowledge, which means the gathering of pieces
of knowledge and assumptions about a system, written altogether in a model so
that they might play or work together. We limit this scope further to simulation