Multi-actor Multi-criteria Analysis Research Articles

Range-based Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis: A combined method of Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis and Monte Carlo simulation to support participatory decision making under uncertainty

Concerns about environmental and social effects have made Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) increasingly popular. Decision making in complex contexts often – possibly always – requires addressing an aggregation of multiple issues to meet social, economic, legal, technical, and environmental objectives. These values at stake may affect different stakeholders through distributional effects characterized by a high and heterogeneous uncertainty that no social actors can completely control or understand. On this basis, we present a new process framework that aims to support participatory decision making under uncertainty: the range-based Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (range-based MAMCA). On the one hand, the process framework explicitly considers stakeholders’ objectives at an output level of aggregation. On the other hand, by means of a Monte Carlo analysis, the method also provides an exploratory scenario approach that enables the capture of the uncertainty, which stems from the complex context evolution. Range-based MAMCA offers a unique participatory process framework that enables us (1) to identify the alternatives pros and cons for each stakeholder group; (2) to provide probabilities about the risk of supporting mistaken, or at least ill-suited, decisions because of the uncertainty regarding to the decision-making context; (3) to take the decision-makers’ limited control of the actual policy effects over the implementation of one or several options into account. The range-based MAMCA framework is illustrated by means of our first case study that aimed to assess French stakeholders’ support for different biofuel options by 2030.

Giving Future Generations a Voice: Constructing a Sustainability Viewpoint in Transport Appraisal

In order to give future generations a voice in decisions that will impact them, this paper proposes a dual-approach method for constructing a “sustainability viewpoint” in transport appraisal. Our method juxtaposes an expert-based SV with a principle-based SV. In the former, sustainability experts are asked to prioritize criteria for project assessment. In the latter, criteria weights are calculated based on sustainability theory (“strong” and “weak” sustainability). Multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA) is used to make the various actors and sustainability viewpoints explicit. Together, these viewpoints are intended to inform decision-making. The appraisal of HS2 Phase I in the UK is used to demonstrate this method. It is found that all three variants of the sustainability viewpoint result in similar project preferences – which differ from that of other transport professionals. We conclude by arguing for the explicit inclusion of a sustainability viewpoint within transport appraisal, on a multi-actor basis. We also recommend hiring more transport planners with sustainability experience into government planning agencies. Finally, we suggest additional testing of different approaches, along with further research on how SVs should be incorporated into appraisal processes.

Sustainability versus stakeholder preferences: Searching for synergies in urban and regional mobility measures

Public participation is becoming more and more important in transport planning and decision-making. However, the concept of sustainable mobility can be understood in different ways by the stakeholders and the current practice of participation is often limited. This paper presents a framework which makes it possible to evaluate, compare and understand the ranking of the alternatives for small-scale urban and regional mobility projects, assessed on sustainability and stakeholder preferences. We apply rank correlation to detect synergies in evaluation outcomes, in order to understand if there is concordance between the rankings. We also analyse if the stakeholder preferences, calculated by the multi-actor, multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA) were similar to the sustainability assessment by multi-criteria analysis (MCA). The results of the application of the framework on three demonstration projects indicate that most stakeholders have similar preferences compared to the project alternatives' ranking of sustainability and that any of the interventions would be more sustainable compared to the business as usual.

Who is in Favor of off-hour Deliveries to Brussels Supermarkets? Applying Multi Actor Multi Criteria Analysis (MAMCA) to Measure Stakeholder Support

Today, the majority of deliveries in urban areas take place during the day at times when roads are already congested with other vehicles. In theory, shifting some of these deliveries to off-hours would decrease both traffic pressure during high traffic periods as well as the time needed to carry out deliveries. However, research has shown that there are also negative effects and that different stakeholders have very different points of view. Until today, the pros and cons have not been examined from the perspective of the various stakeholders. The questions at stake are whether in certain situations there is overall stakeholder support for a shift to off-hour deliveries and how we can assess this support. This paper presents Multi Actor Multi Criteria Analysis (MAMCA) (Macharis, 2005) as the appropriate tool for measuring support for urban off-hour deliveries and describes the application of this methodology to a case study of a large food retailer in Brussels. MAMCA is an extension of the widely used Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA), and it explicitly includes the goals and objectives of all stakeholders when evaluating a set of alternatives. The analysis reveals that, in Brussels, a shift to off-hour deliveries to supermarkets should receive overall support because there are no scenarios that score very high for one stakeholder and very low for another and the scenarios that envision a high proportion of night deliveries receive a high score. The retailer prefers a scenario with an even delivery distribution throughout the day, while the other two stakeholders prefer more morning deliveries.

The multi-actor multi-criteria analysis in action for sustainable urban mobility decisions: the case of Leuven

Urban mobility strategy-making usually involves a large number of stakeholders with diverse objectives. Therefore, participatory decision-making is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. This paper discusses how the multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA) methodology complemented with an electronic group decision support system (GDSS) can contribute to a well-structured decision-making process to come to a commonly supported mobility policy. The proposed approach is demonstrated through a workshop in Leuven, Belgium where four scenarios to improve mobility in the city centre were evaluated based on the preferences of 34 stakeholders. Our findings show that criteria weighting, the set-up of the evaluation matrix, the ranking of alternatives and implementation can be enhanced with our approach. The proposed workshop setting provides an opportunity for stakeholders to interactively weight and evaluate scenarios in an online software tool, while interacting with each other in a workshop setting. Further improvements of the process in terms of finding a compromise are also proposed.

The multi-actor multi-criteria analysis in action for sustainable urban mobility decisions: the case of Leuven

The multi-actor multi-criteria analysis in action for sustainable urban mobility decisions: the case of Leuven

Sustainable, Participatory and Practical: The NISTO Evaluation Framework for Urban and Regional Mobility Projects

This paper proposes the NISTO evaluation framework to appraise small-scale mobility projects. The framework consists of three evaluation tools and a set of evaluation criteria and indicators that are linked to the tools. The appraisal of the sustainability of project alternatives is carried out by multi-criteria analysis using 16 criteria grouped under the three pillars of sustainability that were selected by an in-depth analysis of current practice in North-West Europe. The performance of these criteria is measured through a set of core and optional indicators. Stakeholders are involved in the appraisal through the multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA), which allows the consideration of conflicting stakeholder objectives and helps to identify synergies and disagreement between different stakeholder groups. The methodology is based on assessing the evaluation criteria of the different stakeholder groups. Target monitoring is carried out by setting SMART (specific, measureable, ambitious and accepted, realistic and time-bound) targets which are forecast in an ex-ante appraisal or monitored during implementation. We demonstrate the framework through the evaluation of a combined tourist travel card (MeineCardPlus) in the Nordhessen region of Germany, which provides free use of public transport and free entry to leisure facilities in and around Kassel. By considering the results of the evaluation tools side-by-side, it is possible to choose an alternative that is supported by the majority of stakeholders, performs well in the sustainability assessment and realistic in terms of policy targets.

3N-AHP Model, the New Multiactor Multicritera for the Selection of Optimal Corridors of the Line Infrastructure Facilities

In this paper is developed a complex model for the evaluation and selection of the optimum spatial solutions of the corridor line infrastructural facility, which is characterized by multiactor and multicriteria approach. The model is based on the multiactor multicriteria analysis methodology (MAMCO - The Multi Actor Multi Criteria Analysis Methodology) where the relevant decision-making actors, verified by stakeholder analysis (The Stakeholdes analysis), based on the criteria of evaluation that are sorted in the proper hierarchy and whose relevance is confirmed by the factor analysis (the Factor analysis) using the evaluation and ranking of alternatives of the AHP method (the Analityc Hierarchy Process), which was selected by intelligent access with the help of decision tree (decision Tree), offered from a set of alternatives to choose the optimum solution, and the accuracy of their selection check by sensitivity analysis (sensitivity analisys).

Sustainable Consensus? The NISTO Evaluation Framework to Appraise Sustainability and Stakeholder Preferences for Mobility Projects

While sustainability of transport projects is of increasing importance, the concept of sustainability can be understood in many different ways by the stakeholders that are involved in or affected by mobility projects. In this paper, we compare the outcomes of the assessment of sustainability of projects through a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) and the appraisal of stakeholder preferences through the multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA). Evaluating projects with both tools and comparing the outcomes can provide insight into the stakeholder support of sustainable solutions and the sustainability of alternatives preferred by stakeholders. The sustainability of projects is assessed through 16 criteria grouped under the three pillars of sustainability. They were selected by in-depth review of 16 case studies of mobility projects, 18 transport evaluation schemes and the ranking of potential criteria by 214 stakeholders in North-West Europe. These criteria were weighted by 93 representatives of decision makers in the mobility domain. Stakeholder preferences were appraised through the criteria identified for each stakeholder group. We illustrate the framework by evaluating alternative solutions to improve cycling connections between the towns of Tilburg and Waalwijk in the Netherlands. The results of the comparison show that stakeholder preferences are biased towards one or two of the sustainability pillars (economy, environment, society) in three ways: through the selection of the criteria by the stakeholders, the weights of each criterion by each stakeholder group and differences in the final ranking of alternatives between the stakeholder groups and the MCA.

A social stakeholder support assessment of low-carbon transport policy based on multi-actor multi-criteria analysis: The case of Tianjin

Based on multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA), this paper evaluates the low-carbon transport policies in Tianjin, China. MAMCA is a methodology that is used to evaluate different policy measures by explicitly accounting for the opinions of various stakeholders. This paper refines the model based on social network analysis to measure the weights of stakeholder opinions and applies the model to the case of Tianjin. Six intervention low-carbon transport policies (tax adjustment, pricing adjustment mechanisms, multi-operation mechanisms, environmental propaganda, traffic demand management, and state funding and subsidies) are evaluated based on the aims and objectives of various stakeholders (government supervisory authorities, end users, infrastructure operators, infrastructure suppliers, academics, the traffic management sector, the technology division, and the planning department) using snowball sampling techniques. Overall, the results showed that the most supportive policies are traffic demand management and state funding and subsidies. The MAMCA also provided insights into the position and preferences of stakeholders in relation to the aims and objectives of low-carbon transport policy. As such, the results can assist decision makers in comparing, selecting and adjusting low-carbon transport policies as well as attracting support for policy implementation.

Multi-actor multi-criteria analysis for sustainable city distribution: a new assessment framework

Urban areas are facing several challenges, especially to organise freight transport in a sustainable way. Many innovative city distribution concepts have failed because not all stakeholders were taken into account in the decision-making process. Evaluating urban freight solutions summons the need for a new approach, taking into consideration different conflicting objectives from different stakeholders. Within STRAIGHTSOL (strategies and measures for smarter urban freight solutions, EC FP7), a systematic impact assessment framework dedicated to freight transportation has been developed. The so-called city distribution - multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (CD-MAMCA) incorporates the city distribution actors and their objectives as the primary focus complemented with a MCDA performed with the PROMETHEE-GDSS method. In this paper, the specific framework dedicated to city distribution is fully explained through a case study in the UK charity sector with Oxfam which tested remote monitoring of the banks leading to dynamic collection scheduling.

Reviewing the use of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for the evaluation of transport projects: Time for a multi-actor approach

In this paper we give an overview of the use of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) for transport project appraisal. The aim of this review is to provide an outline of the increasing use of MCDA methods in the evaluation of transport projects. We investigate for which kind of transport decisions the MCDA methods are applied. The review consists of identifying the transport related subjects, the interconnected arising decision problems and the kind of representative MCDA method(s) used for transport project evaluations. This review allowed deriving a general frame for the evaluation of transport projects. One of the conclusions resulted in the importance of integrating stakeholders in the decision process not yet very common in the transport projects that were reviewed. The Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (MAMCA) approach is suggested as a direction for further research. The MAMCA methodology has already proven its usefulness in several transport related decision problems enabling to involve the stakeholders explicitly in the decision process.

Transition through dialogue: A stakeholder based decision process for cities: The case of city distribution

Urban areas are facing several challenges. One of them is how to organise freight transport in a sustainable way. Most of the measures that have been experienced suffer from a lack of systematic evaluation and assessment of their short and long term effects. That is why large scale or long term adoptions often fail, because not all stakeholders were taken into account (Macharis & Melo, 2011). Consequently involving these actors and their objectives is a primary focus to develop the evaluation methodology. The Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (MAMCA) methodology suits perfectly in this aim. Within this paper, a specific evaluation framework for city distribution (CD-MAMCA) is explained with its step-by-step approach. The relevant stakeholders within urban and interurban freight transport context are shown together with their important criteria.

Traffic-restriction in Ramallah (Palestine): Participatory sustainability assessment of pedestrian scenarios using a simplified transport model

Assigning specific infrastructure per transport mode addresses discrepancies between mobility and land-use developments. This paper elaborates on pedestrian scenarios for central Ramallah, a major urban developing area in Palestine. The sustainability of the four alternative pedestrian scenarios is assessed according to the participatory multi-actor multi-criteria analysis, which integrates stakeholder objectives in the evaluation of the alternative scenarios. To determine the impact of each pedestrian scenario on the traffic flow, an origin–destination matrix is estimated by means of traffic counts, according the Furness distribution algorithm and the maximising-entropy approach. Results forward the medium Al-Zhara scenario as compromising alternative between the objectives of the governmental, transport operator and local business stakeholder groups, as it instigates less congestion, pollutant gas and greenhouse gas emissions. Detour routes subjected to parking constraints are proposed to optimise the reduced traffic flow.

A stakeholder-based multicriteria evaluation framework for city distribution

Urban areas face particular challenges for freight transport, both in terms of logistical performance and environmental impact. Many innovative city distribution concepts have failed because not all stakeholders were taken into account in the decision-making process (Macharis & Melo, 2011). There is a clear need for a comprehensive approach to evaluate urban freight solutions in order to assess their chance of success. A new evaluation framework was worked out within the STRAIGHTSOL project (strategies and measures for smarter urban freight solutions, EC FP7) and incorporates the city distribution actors and their objectives as the primary focus. The multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA) methodology developed by Macharis (2005), (2007) ties with this aim and is complemented with other methods such as the cost–benefit analysis and business modeling. The so-called city distribution — multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (CD-MAMCA) methodology is fully explained through a case study with Kuehne and Nagel which tested real-time remote monitoring of the cargo leading to improve rail tracking and warehouse management in Thessaloniki.

A stakeholder-based assessment framework applied to evaluate development scenarios for the spatial data infrastructure for Flanders

Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) is the integration of a number of components to create a platform which enables a wide variety of stakeholders to access, share and use spatial data in an efficient and effective way. The way this platform should be set up and governed is a difficult decision, in which all these stakeholders have different views and objectives. In this paper, the Multi Actor Multi Criteria Analysis (MAMCA), developed by Macharis (2000, 2005), is discussed as a methodology for evaluating different development alternatives for SDI. The application of the methodology for the case in Flanders (Belgium) clearly shows its clear and visual interpretation strengths. This enables a thorough discussion of the possible implementation paths with their strengths and weaknesses by the stakeholders. The results show that the future of the SDI in Flanders could lie within the integration of the market in the SDI.

Does a Mobile Depot Make Urban Deliveries Faster, More Sustainable and More Economically Viable: Results of a Pilot Test in Brussels

A Mobile Depot (MD) is a trailer fitted with a loading dock, warehousing facilities and an office. The trailer is used as a mobile inner city base from where last-mile deliveries and first-mile pick-ups are done with electrically supported cyclocargos. In the morning and evening it is used to transport shipments from and to a peripheral depot. The MD was developed by TNT Express as a response to the challenging urban working conditions: narrow streets, mixed traffic, traffic congestion, congestion charging, environmental zones, etc. TNT Express tested this innovative concept in Brussels for a period of three months in 2013 as part of the European FP7 project STRAIGHTSOL.Regular TNT Express deliveries and pick-ups in Brussels are carried out from the TNT depot at the Brussels freight airport using diesel trucks for pallets and using diesel vans for parcels and documents. During the trial period, the parcels and documents destined for a part of the inner city were delivered and picked up through the MD.This new way of working resulted in a decrease of the number of diesel kilometres from 1.34km per stop in the Business-As-Usual scenario to 0.52km per stop in the Mobile-Depot scenario. This decrease can be linked to a positive environmental impact with, for example, 24% less emission of CO2 and up to 59% less emission of PM2.5. TNT Express was able to successfully integrate the MD in their operations. Service levels dropped slightly mainly due to the additional time needed to load the cyclocargos. However, none of the TNT customers complained about the quality of service. For TNT, delivering through the MD was twice as expensive as before. However, they feel it is possible to further decrease the operational costs by using the MD at its full capacity (the MD was only used at 40% of its full capacity) and by further refining the handling.A multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA) of the MD concept revealed under which conditions it would become a more profitable concept to TNT Express: internalised external costs, higher capacity use and higher drop density. The MAMCA also revealed that the benefits are mostly for the other stakeholders, especially society.

A multi-actor multi-criteria analysis of the performance of global cities

The strong world-wide urbanisation trend calls for a repositioning of cities, especially the large cities with a global impact. These cities tend to become economic, logistic and political powerhouses and are increasingly involved in a competition on their integral performance. The present paper aims to trace to what extent and why some cities outperform others. Starting from an extensive database on many important characteristics of global cities, this paper offers a multi-criteria methodology for identifying the relative position of various important cities on the basis of distinct assessment criteria. The explicit consideration of the perceptions of important classes of stakeholders on the performance outcomes of the various cities involved allows for an enhanced policy analysis. From a technical assessment perspective, the applied part of the paper employs the MAMCA and PROMETHEE multi-criteria methodology, which have proven their analytical power in various multi-criteria evaluation problems over the past years. The paper concludes with some policy perspectives and lessons.

Participatory evaluation of regional light rail scenarios: A Flemish case on sustainable mobility and land-use

Abstract Rail transit is generally acknowledged as an alternative transport mode in contributing towards sustainable mobility. In addition to minimising negative externalities, rail transit has sustainable land-use opportunities to integrate transport- and spatial planning. The objective of this paper is to determine the impact of integrative light rail scenarios and their ability to curtail private vehicle driven urban sprawl in the Flemish rhombus. The paper proposes three light rail scenarios: an infrastructural scenario; tramification scenario; and spatial rail scenario, each covering a specific landscape structure to reorganise the dispersed spatial environment in Flanders in the long-term. We used the participatory multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA) which incorporates the objectives of all involved stakeholders to assess the impact of the scenarios. The infrastructural alternative scenario gained most support among the involved stakeholders, on the grounds of improved multimodality, enhanced user amenities, reduced implementation costs, moderated greenhouse gas emissions and mitigated infrastructural barrier effects. Despite the merits of the infrastructural scenario in terms of stakeholder objectives, few possibilities are included to elaborate upon sustainable land-use development. In response to the low performance of this assessment criterion, catalyst measures are discussed to support the implementation.

A Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis of the Performance of Global Cities

The strong world-wide urbanisation trend calls for a repositioning of cities, especially the large cities with a global impact. These cities tend to become economic, logistic and political powerhouses and are increasingly involved in a competition on their integral performance. The present paper aims to trace to what extent and why some cities outperform others. Starting from an extensive database on many important characteristics of global cities, this paper offers a multi-criteria methodology for identifying the relative position of various important cities on the basis of distinct assessment criteria. The explicit consideration of the perceptions of important classes of stakeholders on the performance outcomes of the various cities involved allows for a enhanced policy analysis. From a technical assessment perspective, the applied part of the paper employs the MAMCA and PROMETHEE multi-criteria methodology, which have proven their analytical power in various mu lti-criteria evaluation problems over the past years. The paper concludes with some policy perspectives and lessons.