Water Planning Portal Tool News Integrated Assessment Modelling Integrated Assessment Tools: CONCEPT
Integrated Assessment Tools: CONCEPT
Integrated Assessment Modelling
One of the tools that we are trialling in this project is called CONCEPT - a dynamic modelling tool that has been developed by the e-Water CRC for improving the methods of modelling and managing Australia's water resources. CONCEPT is being trialled with stakeholders in the South Australia case study to better understand the socio-economic and cultural impacts, values and consequences associated with the allocation of environmental water and environmental flows.
Download CONCEPT
If you were one of the people who participated in the recent trials of the CONCEPT program, and would like to download a free copy of this tool, please follow this link to the e-Water CRC toolkit.
Please note: You will need to register on this site to get access to the software package.
What is Concept?
Concept has been developed for creating dynamic conceptual diagrams that are more explanatory than visual representations, but easier to understand and build than numerial or detailed scientific models. It is a drawing package that allows the user to display the important elements of a scenario in a visually appealing way and to show the links between these elements. The links can have relationships associated with them and these relationships can be changed dynamically to show changed conditions for the elements under different scenarios. Concept provides advantages over traditional static conceptual diagrams, in that it can show changes in a scenario as the condition of different elements are changed. It also allows the user to allocate levels of confidence in the condition assigned to an element. The software can be used to model just about any situation for purposes ranging from communicating processes and scenarios to stakeholders, to consensus building, issues scoping and prioritising. Although Concept was originally designed for a natural resource management audience, it could be used by anyone who needs to visualise a process.
Example applications
- Communication - Concept can be used to illustrate to stakeholders how certain activities affect the important elements within their environment.
- Consensus Building - Concept can be used by scientists, policy makers and other stakeholders to help gain consensus on the important elements and dynamics of a process or scenario. For example, those interested in a particular catchment may assemble in a facilitated session and use Concept to decide on and build a live conceptual model of the important processes that affect the catchment.
- Prioritisation - Policy makers and scientists may use Concept to depict the many processes within a system and highlight areas for further research.
For more information
Concept was also the foundation of the popular online program "Catchment Detox" which was a joint initiative the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), in partnership with eWater CRC, the CSIRO, the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) and National Science Week.
