Participatory Modeling Process Research Articles

Developing a fine-scale spatial operating model of eastern oyster population dynamics in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, U.S.A.

Management decisions for the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) fishery in Maryland are made at a finer spatial scale than the spatial data resolution of the current stock assessment. This mismatch creates concerns that the consequences of management actions and fishing activities are not being adequately represented when assessing fishery status. To produce a model that could support a participatory modeling process intended to differentiate results of fine-scale management actions we developed a method for conditioning a down-scaled oyster stock assessment model to produce a spatially-explicit operating model at the scale of individual oyster bars for eastern oysters in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. To ensure that parameter values of the operating model were consistent with data at multiple scales we fitted the model to bar-specific harvest data during 2004–2020 and regional abundance estimates from the current Maryland Oyster Stock Assessment during 1999–2020. The operating model can then predict effects of different management actions, such as planting hatchery-reared oysters, addition of substrate, or modifying fishing regulations, at a bar-specific scale and compare outcomes among different scenarios. Model outputs included a suite of management performance metrics, including but not limited to oyster abundance and fishery harvest, that were important to stakeholders. These bar-specific scenarios would not have been possible using an operating model with the same spatial resolution as the current Maryland Oyster Stock Assessment. Accounting for fine scale spatial processes can be important to engaging participants and our model provides an expedient option to develop an operating model that downscales stock assessment models.

Participatory Framework for Urban Pluvial Flood Modeling in the Digital Twin Era

The recent advancement in digital twin technology, which creates virtual replicas of real-world processes, offers an interactive testbed for understanding and predicting environmental changes. As pluvial flood damage escalates globally in urban areas, there remains a gap in understanding the most effective collaboration between governments and local residents for sustainable flood risk management. To address this gap, we develop a participatory framework for urban pluvial flood modeling, incorporating open source software, virtual reality, minimum viable product, and gamification components. This framework engages citizens in every phase of the participatory modeling process, from input data preparation, through hydrological model construction, to model verification, and experiments. We present a case study on the recurring pluvial flood damages in South Korea's Gangnam region, demonstrating the practical implications of an interactive, web-based crowdsourcing platform to leverage community engagement and local knowledge. The results underscore the evidence of a proactive role for citizens, not merely as recipients of disaster information but as key contributors collaborating with a range of stakeholders in stormwater management and modeling. Combining digital twin technology with citizen participation can empower informed decision-making and collective actions in the evolving digital era, leading to a disaster-resilient community.

How to intensify collaboration in a participatory modelling process to collectively design and evaluate new farming systems

Agricultural research is expected to foster agro-ecological transitions. For that purpose, methodologies of participative integrated assessment of new farming and cropping systems are requested. However, the territory level and the stakeholders’ participation are often not sufficiently embraced. Based on the companion modeling approach, a group of researchers from different disciplines experimented an approach where researchers and stakeholders collaborated intensively all along the process of design and use of the model. The researchers selected a small rural area where agriculture plays a major role (Valensole plateau, south of France) and where they had not carried out any investigation before. In such conditions, we argue that the interactions between researchers and stakeholders involved in the co-design from scratch of a simulation model stimulate a collective reflection about the sustainability of current and alternative farming systems. This article describes the different phases of the process from stakeholders’ enrolment until the final discussion of the results provided by the model. It underlines the conditions that favored the emergence of consensus and the production of a new set of knowledge. It emphasizes how the discordances between data and disagreements between stakeholders were used to stimulate collective debates and underlines the role played by the model. Finally, the article discusses the drawbacks that the approach did not overcome.

Field experiences and lessons learned from applying participatory system dynamics modelling to sustainable water and agri-food systems

Achieving the objectives of sustainable development in water and agri-food systems requires the utilisation of decision-support tools in stakeholder-driven processes to construct and simulate various scenarios and evaluate the outcomes of associated policy interventions. While it is common practice to involve stakeholders in participatory modelling processes, their comprehensive documentation and the lessons learned remain scarce. In this paper, we share our experience of engaging stakeholders throughout the entire system dynamics modelling process. We draw on two projects implemented in the Volta River Basin, West Africa, to understand the dynamics of water and agri-food systems under changing environmental and socioeconomic conditions. We outline eight key insights and lessons as practical guides derived from each stage of the participatory modelling process, including the pre-workshop stage, problem definition, model conceptualization, simulation model formulation, model testing and verification, and policy design and evaluation. Our findings demonstrate that stakeholders can actively contribute to all phases of the system dynamics modelling process, including parameter estimation, sensitivity analysis, and numerical simulation experiments. However, we encountered notable challenges, including the time-intensive nature of the process, the struggle to reach a consensus on the modelled problem, and the difficulty of translating the conceptual model into a simulation model using stock and flow diagrams – all of which were addressed through a structured facilitation process. While the projects were anchored in the specific context of West Africa, the key lessons and insights highlighted have broader significance, particularly for researchers employing PSDM in regions characterised by multifaceted human-environmental systems and where stakeholder involvement is crucial for holistic understanding and effective policy interventions. This paper contributes practical guidance for future efforts with participatory modelling, particularly in regions worldwide grappling with sustainable development challenges in water and agri-food systems, and where stakeholder involvement is crucial for holistic understanding of the multiple challenges and for designing effective policy interventions.

Financial toxicity among cancer survivors: a conceptual model based on a feedback perspective

PurposeExperiencing financial toxicity following a cancer diagnosis is a circular and complex process. We investigate the circular causal mechanisms that either reinforce or balance financial toxicity dynamics.MethodsWe conducted a literature review, expert interviews, a participatory modeling process, and exploratory interviews with N = 11 adults with cancer living in Switzerland. We sampled participants purposively based on health-related and sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsWe describe a conceptual model based on the triangulation of cancer survivor narratives, expert perspectives, and a literature review. This model distinguishes between the reinforcing and balancing feedback loops that drive the dynamics of financial toxicity. It includes the topics “Coping with cancer and employment,” “Coping with limited economic resources,” and “Maintaining care resources while facing economic pressure.” For each topic, we identify a necessary condition for cancer survivors to avoid reinforcing financial toxicity.ConclusionsThe results allow us to reconstruct participant narratives regarding cancer-related financial toxicity. Based on comparison with scientific literature from Western Europe and North America, we hypothesize the validity of the model beyond the population covered by the sample. The results highlight the importance of screening for the risk of financial toxicity in the clinical context and individual risk and resource assessment in social counseling.Implications for cancer survivorsThese results can raise cancer survivors’ awareness of risks related to financial toxicity and strengthen their resources for coping with financial burden successfully.

Gamification Framework for Participatory Modeling: A Proposal

Problem structuring methods imply the involvement of stakeholders and aim to create a shared understanding of the problem and commitment among them. The process and outcomes of such interventions entirely depend on the stakeholder’s level of engagement and willingness to contribute to the discussion. Gamification, in its turn, has been extensively used to increase engagement in an activity and nudge certain behaviors. Several gamification frameworks exist for stakeholder engagement; however, none fully considers the context of the modeling workshops with stakeholders.In this paper, we focus on a specific method for problem structuring, called Participatory Modeling (PM), and aim to explore the essential components and steps to gamify the PM process. We look at the literature on gamification, stakeholder engagement, problem structuring methods and, specifically, PM. Based on this analysis, we propose a gamification framework for PM, which includes the steps commonly mentioned in other existing frameworks and more nuanced features within each step that are specific to the PM context. Emphasis is given to analyzing the context of the gamified activity, including such aspects as participants, group interaction, and modeling. In addition, consideration of ethical points and potential risks of gamification is suggested as a necessary step to prevent undesired side effects during the gamified PM process.The gamification framework for PM leads to a variety of ways in which gamified intervention can be designed and incorporated into the process. Further research on the appropriateness of gamification use, practical applications, their evaluation, and risks associated with gamified interventions can contribute to the extension and clarification of the proposed framework.

Developing a community based participatory model for efficient and sustainable use of groundwater – An exploratory research using system dynamics in a village in south India

The paper presents a model developed collaboratively with farmers in a south Indian village to visualize productive, efficient and sustainable usage of groundwater. This model is based on information and data collected over several years and analyzed through participatory community interactions. The objective of the participatory modeling process is to trigger thinking among the community regarding the use of groundwater in a sustainable manner. It is expected that a model of sustainable groundwater use would evolve if the community is able to perceive groundwater as a community resource. With the System Dynamics approach, the community was enabled to understand the complexities in groundwater availability patterns, its over exploitation and its impact, and also to visualize scenarios that suit their context for sustaining their agriculture. These scenarios effectively project the potential of groundwater as a critical and productive source of irrigation so as to sustain the agricultural base of the village community. They also helped in visualizing the benefits of collectivizing groundwater from the existing borewells within the village boundaries. The study reveals that there is a possibility for more sustainable use of groundwater in the selected village provided the community makes a viable choice to restrict the irrigated area and pool groundwater to provide protective irrigation to rainfed crops in a much larger area.

Recognizing political influences in participatory social-ecological systems modeling

Stakeholder participation in social-ecological systems (SES) modeling is increasingly considered a desirable way to elicit diverse sources of knowledge about SES behavior and to promote inclusive decision-making in SES. Understanding how participatory modeling processes function in the context of long-term adaptive management of SES may allow for better design of participatory processes to achieve the intended outcomes of inclusionary knowledge, representativeness, and social learning, while avoiding unintended outcomes. Long-term adaptive management contexts often include political influences -- attempts to shift or preserve power structures and authority, and efforts to represent the political and economic interests of stakeholders -- in the computer models that are used to shape policy making and implementation. In this research, we examine a period that included a major transition in the watershed model used for management of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States. The Chesapeake Bay watershed model has been in development since the 1980s, and is considered by many to be an exemplary case of participatory modeling. We use documentary analysis and interviews with participants involved in the model application and development transition to reveal a variety of ways in which participatory modeling may be subject to different kinds of political influences, some of which resulted in unintended outcomes, including: perceptions of difficulty updating the model in substantive ways, “gaming” of the model/participatory process by stakeholders, and increasing resistance against considering uncertainty in the system not captured by the model. This research suggests unintended or negative outcomes may be associated with both participatory decision-making and stakeholder learning even though they are so often touted as the benefits of participatory modeling. We end with a hypothesis that further development of a theory of computer model governance to bridge model impact and broader theories of environmental governance at the science-policy interface may result in improved SES modeling outcomes.

Mapping human- and bear-centered perspectives on coexistence using a participatory Bayesian framework

Coexistence with wildlife is becoming a key challenge in Europe as populations of large carnivores recover in human-dominated landscapes. Modeling the spatial distribution of conditions for human-bear coexistence can help support conservation by identifying priority areas and measures to support coexistence, but existing models often only address risks either to humans or to large carnivores. In this study, we developed a participatory modeling process that incorporates both human-centered and large carnivore-centered perspectives on coexistence and applied it to a case study of coexistence between humans and the endangered Apennine brown bears (Ursus arctos marsicanus) in Italy. Local and expert knowledge, as well as available data on bear habitats and land use, were integrated into a spatially explicit Bayesian network. This model is used to predict and map the tolerance to bears from the human perspective and the risk of fitness loss from the bear perspective. We found that conditions for human-bear coexistence vary between human communities and are spatially heterogeneous at the local scale, depending on ecological factors, social factors influencing the level of tolerance in community, such as people’s emotions and knowledge, economic factors, such as livelihoods, and policies such as damage compensation. The participatory modeling approach allowed us to integrate perceptions of local people, expert assessments, and spatial data, and can help bridge the gap between science and conservation practice. The resulting coexistence maps can inform conservation decisions, and can be updated as new information becomes available. Our modeling approach could help to efficiently target measures for improving human-large carnivore coexistence in different settings in a site-specific manner.

Cooperation under conflict: participatory hydrological modeling for science policy dialogues for the Aculeo Lake

Abstract. Hydrological modeling tools can support collaborative decision processes by visually displaying hydrological systems connections, uncertainties, as well as conflicting preferences over water management strategies. Nevertheless, many challenges remain in the real application of these technical tools to successfully implement, capture, and communicate with non-experts the complexities of coupled human hydrological systems. A 5-step process shows how a WEAP-based hydrological study aiming to explore the disappearance of a 12 km2 lake in the Aculeo basin in Chile was transformed into a multiple question-driven sociohydrological modeling process to help answer the diversity of questions instigating conflict. Collaboration allowed construction of a surface–groundwater hydrological model that responded to local stakeholders' uncertainties. While testing a subset of socially accepted management strategies under two climate change scenarios, combining the strategies allows recovering up to half the lake water volume. However, the 5-step participatory modeling process also shows how the increasing social–environmental conflicts over the causes and effects of the water scarcity are challenging barriers to overcome with modeling tools. As presented in this article, although flexible approaches and research agendas could better support the exploration of synergies towards collaboration and production of useful and socially acceptable hydrological models, there are still value-driven aspects of water management that need to be explored to better support science policy dialogues.

Defining success in community-university partnerships: lessons learned from Flint

ABSTRACT The success of responsible research and innovation (RRI) work is as much about the process of partnership as it is about the products and outcomes. In this paper, we present lessons learned from the first three years of a participatory modeling (PM) research project based on RRI principles and focused on the transformation of the food system in Flint, Michigan through identification of leverage points. Participatory modeling is a type of community engaged research that seeks to build representations of a system collaboratively between researchers, decision-makers, and community members. We discuss the challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned from the Flint Leverage Points Project (FLPP) using the four ‘Ps’ framework–purpose, processes, partnerships and products. We argue a carefully designed participatory modeling process can serve to build lasting partnerships across community-university boundaries.

Presenting a comprehensive multi-scale evaluation framework for participatory modelling programs: A scoping review.

Systems modelling and simulation can improve understanding of complex systems to support decision making, better managing system challenges. Advances in technology have facilitated accessibility of modelling by diverse stakeholders, allowing them to engage with and contribute to the development of systems models (participatory modelling). However, despite its increasing applications across a range of disciplines, there is a growing need to improve evaluation efforts to effectively report on the quality, importance, and value of participatory modelling. This paper aims to identify and assess evaluation frameworks, criteria, and/or processes, as well as to synthesize the findings into a comprehensive multi-scale framework for participatory modelling programs. A scoping review approach was utilized, which involved a systematic literature search via Scopus in consultation with experts to identify and appraise records that described an evaluation framework, criteria, and/or process in the context of participatory modelling. This scoping review is registered with the Open Science Framework. The review identified 11 studies, which varied in evaluation purposes, terminologies, levels of examination, and time points. The review of studies highlighted areas of overlap and opportunities for further development, which prompted the development of a comprehensive multi-scale evaluation framework to assess participatory modelling programs across disciplines and systems modelling methods. The framework consists of four categories (Feasibility, Value, Change/Action, Sustainability) with 30 evaluation criteria, broken down across project-, individual-, group- and system-level impacts. The presented novel framework brings together a significant knowledge base into a flexible, cross-sectoral evaluation effort that considers the whole participatory modelling process. Developed through the rigorous synthesis of multidisciplinary expertise from existing studies, the application of the framework can provide the opportunity to understand practical future implications such as which aspects are particularly important for policy decisions, community learning, and the ongoing improvement of participatory modelling methods.

Participatory and Integrated Modelling under Contentious Water Use in Semiarid Basins

Addressing modern water management challenges requires the integration of physical, environmental and socio-economic aspects, including diverse stakeholders’ values, interests and goals. Early stakeholder involvement increases the likelihood of acceptance and legitimacy of potential solutions to these challenges. Participatory modelling allows stakeholders to co-design solutions, thus facilitating knowledge co-construction/social learning. In this work, we combine integrated modelling and participatory modelling to develop and deploy a digital platform supporting decision-making for water management in a semiarid basin under contentious water use. The purpose of this tool is exploring “on-the-fly” alternative water management strategies and potential policy pathways with stakeholders. We first co-designed specific water management strategies/impact indicators and collected local knowledge about farmers’ behaviour regarding groundwater regulation. Second, we coupled a node–link water balance model, a groundwater model and an agent-based model in a digital platform (SimCopiapo) for scenario exploration. This was done with constant input from key stakeholders through a participatory process. Our results suggest that reductions of groundwater demand (40%) alone are not sufficient to capture stakeholders’ interests and steer the system towards sustainable water use, and thus a portfolio of management strategies including exchanges of water rights, improvements to hydraulic infrastructure and robust enforcement policies is required. The establishment of an efficient enforcement policy to monitor compliance on caps imposed on groundwater use and sanction those breaching this regulation is required to trigger the minimum momentum for policy acceptance. Finally, the participatory modelling process led to the definition of a diverse collection of strategies/impact indicators, which are reflections of the stakeholders’ interests. This indicates that not only the final product—i.e., SimCopiapo—is of value but also the process leading to its creation.

Participatory Modeling: A Methodology for Engaging Stakeholder Knowledge and Participation in Social Science Research

Participatory modeling (PM) is an engaged research methodology for creating analog or computer-based models of complex systems, such as socio–environmental systems. Used across a range of fields, PM centers stakeholder knowledge and participation to create more internally valid models that can inform policy and increase engagement and trust between communities and research teams. The PM process also presents opportunities for knowledge co-production and eliciting cross-sectional and longitudinal data on stakeholders’ worldviews and knowledge, risk assessment, decision-making, and social learning. We present an overview of the stages for PM and how it can be used for community-based, stakeholder-engaged social science research.

The importance of eliciting stakeholders’ system boundary perceptions for problem structuring and decision-making

Differences in system boundaries and problem framings are unavoidable in multi-organisational decision-making. Unstructured problems, such as the grand challenges, are characterised by the existence of multiple actors with different perspectives and conflicting interests, and they require a coordinated effort from multiple organisations. Within this context, this paper aims to understand stakeholders’ perceptions of system boundaries and problem framings, and their potential effects on decision-making by systematically comparing different stakeholder groups’ causal maps around the same shared concern. Bridging notions from Operational Research, System Dynamics and Organisational Studies, the comparison is based on a novel type of thematic analysis of Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) built with each stakeholder group on their perceptions of a given system. The proposed integrated approach combines qualitative with quantitative analysis, such as the centrality of the variables and the structure of the CLDs. Such CLDs comparison provides an intuitive way to visualise differences and similarities of the thematic clusters of variables, underlining factors influencing the shared concern. This could be considered a starting point for more shared understanding as well as more integrated holistic perceptions of the system and, consequently, a more systemic decision-making. Furthermore, for the sake of replicability, this paper also presents a qualitative participatory System Dynamics modelling process aimed to define the key aspects of a problem for each group of stakeholders to support a collaborative multi-organisational decision-making process. The research is based on the activities carried out for an urban regeneration case study in Thamesmead, London, United Kingdom.

Coming and Going in Loops: Participatory Modelling of a System with All its Complexity

Social marketing is currently involved in pursuing several important theoretical and methodological goals pertaining to wide-scale behavior change. The lack of complex system understanding via highly participatory processes and feedback loops is a major impediment for systemic behavior change. The purpose of this paper is to show how the implementation of participatory modelling to explore networks of feedback loops can empower social marketing in capturing system complexity. As a case study, a group of system stakeholders qualitatively modelled a cycling system in a city setting to uncover the system's core behavioral dynamics. This participatory modelling process revealed that the interactions within and between three feedback loops were mainly responsible for the cycling system issues. These feedback loops were: (a) output-based and autocratic decision-making, (b) an abundance of conflicted interests and (c) the reinforcement of a car-dominant paradigm in people's minds. The paper contributes to understanding the potential of participatory modelling for multi-level behavior change.

Using Production Well Behavior to Evaluate Risk in the Depleted Cambrian‐Ordovician Sandstone Aquifer System, Midwestern USA

AbstractAs shallow aquifers become depleted or contaminated worldwide, use of deep aquifers will likely increase to meet growing water demands despite expensive drilling costs and well maintenance, and limited recharge to many of these deep systems. We discuss depletion of the Cambrian‐Ordovician sandstone aquifer, a deep bedrock aquifer that has been a major source of water in the Midwestern US for over 150 years. Using a participatory groundwater modeling approach with active stakeholder engagement, we developed a conceptual framework to assess risk to different sandstone units of the aquifer based on simulated heads and production well behavior (pumping levels and specific capacities). Over 320 m of static head decline has occurred since predevelopment in the deepest sandstone unit. Shallower units are actively being dewatered. Drawdown and head separation between sandstone units is even greater under pumping conditions and is most acute near a regional fault zone. Current depletion is prompting massive infrastructure changes to mitigate anticipated water supply shortages. Our results show that even with a substantial reduction in water use by 35% in 2030, many areas of the aquifer remain at High or Severe risk out to 2070. Head decline, as opposed to storage loss, is a critical metric for understanding depletion of deep bedrock aquifers. The participatory modeling process made clear that pumping levels at production wells should not be ignored in evaluations of aquifer sustainability and risk. Our conceptual risk framework could be applied to other deep bedrock aquifers undergoing depletion.

Multi-level storylines for participatory modeling – involving marginalized communities in Tz'olöj Ya', Mayan Guatemala

Abstract. Unconventional sources of data that enhance our understanding of internal interactions between socio-economic and hydrological processes are central to modeling human–water systems. Participatory modeling (PM) departs from conventional modeling tools by informing and conceptualizing human–water systems through stakeholder engagement. However, the implementation of many PM processes remains biased, particularly in regions where marginalized communities are present. Many PM processes are not cognizant of differentiation and diversity within a society and tend to treat communities as homogeneous units with similar capabilities, needs, and interests. This undifferentiation leads to the exclusion of key actors, many of whom are associated with marginalized communities. In this study, a participatory model-building framework (PMBF), aiming to ensure the inclusiveness of marginalized stakeholders – who (1) have low literacy, (2) are comparatively powerless, and/or (3) are associated with a marginalized language – in participatory modeling, is proposed. The adopted approach employs interdisciplinary storylines to inform and conceptualize human–water systems. The suggested method is underpinned by the multi-level perspective (MLP) framework, which was developed by Geels et al. (2002) to conceptualize socio-technical transitions and modified in this study to accommodate the development of interdisciplinary storylines. A case study was conducted in Atitlán Basin, Guatemala, to understand the relationships that govern the lake's cultural eutrophication problem. This research integrated key stakeholders from the Indigenous Mayan community, associated with diverse literacy ranges, and emerging from three different marginalized linguistic backgrounds (Kaqchikel, Tz'utujil, and K'iche'), in the PM activity. The proposed approach facilitated the participation of marginalized stakeholders. Moreover, it (1) helped develop an understanding of mechanisms governing the eutrophication of the lake, (2) initiated a dialogue between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous stakeholders, and (3) extracted potential solutions targeting the system's leverage points. The participatory model-building activity generated three submodules: (1) agriculture, (2) tourism, and (3) environmental awareness. Each submodule contained socioculturally specific mechanisms associated with nutrient discharge to Lake Atitlán. The delineation of such nuanced relationships helps develop well-targeted policies and best management practices (BMPs). Additionally, the suggested process helped decrease the impact of power imbalances in water resources management and empowered community-based decision-making.

Evaluation of Sustainability Determinants of Small Farming Systems via Participatory Modeling and Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Processes: The Case Study of Heliciculture in Greece

Feasibility and sustainability of small-scale farming systems are the most critical factors that determine future investments of urban agro-farming while promoting eco-systematic livelihood development and biodiversity. The determination and the diversification of the ambivalent and heterogeneous factors that affect the investment decision making of small farming systems is studied in this work via the application of participatory modeling methodology of regional stakeholders. Defuzzification of the participants' categorical feedback is succeeded applying Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (F-AHP) to set the pairwise weight matrix of the determinants suggested by the stakeholders. At a second phase, an innovative Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM) model is utilized to determine the weighted inter-causalities between all agricultural, environmental, and socio-economic criteria from the F-AHP output. Apart from the concept circumscription, we use the FCM to provide an in-depth scenario analysis including steady state and dynamic evaluation of driver concepts to receiver concepts in the model. The methodology is applied for the case study of heliciculture farming systems in Greece. Results show that sustainability is affected primarily by agricultural and inventory factors and secondarily by social and environmental factors identifying such cradle-to-farm gate life cycle assessment to be of low carbon footprint.

Building a Fuzzy Cognitive Map from stakeholder knowledge: An Episodic, asynchronous approach

Participatory modelling (PM) processes involve stakeholders in developing a simplified representation of reality based on stakeholders' knowledge, perceptions, values and assumptions about a system in which they live and/or work. There has been an increase in the need for structured methods for the implementation of PM processes, to elicit knowledge from stakeholders and to represent this knowledge in a model. This paper presents a method to support the participatory component of modelling processes without the need for face-to-face interactions. The method, which we term Episodic and Asynchronous (EAsy) was applied to construct a Fuzzy Cognitive Map of the Nigerian rice agri-food system. The stakeholder determined Fuzzy Cognitive Map was further applied to develop scenarios and identify leverage points for intervention in the system. The results demonstrate that the EAsy approach is an effective way for co-production to be achieved. The EAsy approach can thus be considered valid to construct a representation of a complex social-ecological system. Using the results and analysis of our process, we discuss the limitations and benefits of this PM method.