Output Step

For science and policy consultations it is important to first step-back, taking into consideration broader perspectives on relationships and paths of learning between science and policy. This will help inform and improve the quality and usefulness of the stakeholder and deliberation forum. When preparing the scenario presentation, it is essential to go back to what you did in the prior steps of the methodology, because you have to be prepared to refer to this and to show where you came from. For this, reflect on the process by brainstorming within your team and list answers to the questions: What has been learned? and What are the key points that have been the core of your application? You will also go back to the tools used in the Issue Id and the Design Step and pick up those ones most adequate for your presentation. To plan the meeting, you should identify your stakeholder audience and map their interest. Now specify, what needs to be presented. By doing this, always keep in mind general rules and principles of effective science policy practices and make a list which ones are to be considered in particular on your site. Furthermore you should make sure to follow some basic ethical rules in order to enhance the quality of your engagement process. When planning your presentation and reflecting on the process, go through these ethical rules. Tick a list whether you followed them.
Example | Example 2 | Instructions on how to carry out this sub task

To maximise the effectiveness of the outputs of the System Approach Framework, present your information following the KISS rule: Keep your presentation short and simple. Use your creativity to produce information compact (where possible), credible and understandable. Create and follow a coherent structure. Agree and produce a combination of different formats, such as appealing (short) texts and images / image effects (possibly even sounds)
Decide thoroughly which aspects of the results are important to be visualized well (and document why). There are a number of social tools that have been introduced early in the SAF’s Issue Id and System Design Steps that are particularly useful to revisit within the Output step.  The tools are clearly useful at the beginning of the Output Step and in early preparations; however they may also be directly used and referred to during the stakeholder and deliberation activities. Make sure to use these tools such as the institutional and stakeholder mapping, conceptual modeling and where applicable CATWOE and / or DPSIR to illustrate the process.
Decide and structure the duration of your presentation, whilst keeping in mind your prepared presentation material. A suggested structure is the following:

1. Explanation of the objective of the meeting
2. Recapitulation of the process for transparency
3. Showing the usefulness (and limits) of scenarios to the reference group
4. General explanation of uncertainties and assumptions
5. Presenting (running) the scenarios for audience
6. Explanation of policy options on which the scenarios are based
7. Comparing Scenarios

Cooperate with an external professional facilitator and meet with the facilitator before the stakeholder forum.
Example | Example 2 | Instructions on how to carry out this sub task

Provide the audience and those unable to attend the meetings with written information that they can take home and read up after the meeting. For best quality, agree and produce a clear structure, coherent with your presentation(s) and make sure to also take this structure into consideration when working with images, colors or other options for visualization. This implies to use the same visualization for same types of text, e.g. same font and font size for narrative texts, same colors for social, ecological and economical dimension, same type of boxes for scientific information. Use your creativity to produce information compact (where possible), credible and understandable. Give short guidelines on how to read the material and seek for feedback and suggestions from your facilitator for improving the Output Package and its appropriateness to the audience.
Example | Instructions on how to carry out this sub task

Meet with a test audience, or as you may call it a peer-group. Introduce them to the SAF process and present your prepared presentation to them, as if they were the “real” audience. Improve your presentation based on their feedback. Note that this exercise has shown beneficial in similar applications in order to identify pitfalls of your presentation and to improve parts not obvious to the presenter. Your test audience can be anyone from family member to work colleague. For the organization of the meeting, follow the guidelines implemented in the Issue Id step, adjusting these to the present situation of your application.
Example | Example 2 | Example 3 | Instructions on how to carry out this sub task

Explain the objective of your meeting and recapitulate the process of your application for transparency – make sure to keep referring to the prior four steps and to qualitative dimensions of the engagement process. Make sure to take advantage of the Issue ID and Design Step activities and tools provided to demonstrate and illustrate changes and the process.
Show the usefulness and limits of scenarios to the audience and evaluate the process as you go along (in the forum). Never stop referring to the “real” world. Show the impacts and implications for themselves to the reference group at any time. Extrapolation from the model results to implications in the real systems should be explicitly highlighted.
Example | Example 2 | Instructions on how to carry out this sub task

Present and translate the interpretation of the ecological, economic and social modelling results to the audience:
Give a general explanation of uncertainties and assumptions and the present the different scenarios to the audience by following the same sequence of explanation for each. A recommended sequence is as follows:

1. Explain the policy option
2. Identify scenario inputs and outputs
3. Explain assumptions
4. Identify and quantify benefits for scenarios
5. Identify and quantify costs of scenarios
6. Get indication as to the time scales of costs and benefits
7. Explain uncertainties of the scenario
8. Explain error envelopes of the models
9. Explain possible unexpected changes
10. Run an additional scenario if requested by the audience

Provide a summary of each of the scenarios in a comparative way in order to point out differences. Make sure to stay coherent with the initial parts of your presentation and always refer to the audience’s lifeworlds, i.e. to impacts for them. Give time to the audience to reflect and to ask open questions.
Example | Example 2 Instructions on how to carry out this sub task

If there is a demand for giving more in detail explanations, do this by splitting up into different sessions / work groups / or convene additional meeting. Treat every subgroup equally and do not give preference to more or less powerful / more or less active stakeholders. If done several presentations in different meetings for different stakeholder or reference groups, bring them together for a wrap-up session and give a summary of the different meetings and offer time for discussion and dialogue. Introduce the next steps and necessary preparations for deliberation.
Example | Instructions on how to carry out this sub task

Complete the Output Package by including a report from the stakeholder forum. Sent the package out per email, post and offer an online download. Ensure a maximum of transparency for the audience and those who were unable to attend.
Example | Instructions on how to carry out this sub task

Prepare the forum in either a separate session or a session connected to the stakeholder forum. Follow the same organization steps as done for the previous engagements and make introduce the concept of deliberation and the tools used to the invited stakeholders before the start of the deliberation session.
Example | Instructions on how to carry out this sub task

Chose to deliberate with the KerDST Software or with KerDST on paper. For both, follow thoroughly the instructions in the KerDST manuals and supporting information and ensure a skilled facilitator to be present when using the matrixes.
Example | Example 2 | Instructions on how to carry out this sub task

Chose to deliberate without using a software based DST or DSS tool if not adecuate for your reference group or cultural and communication habits.
Example | Instructions on how to carry out this sub task

Complete the Output Package with an addendum by including a report from the deliberation forum which is open for comments by any of the participants.
Example | Instructions on how to carry out this sub task