Planning in Complexity: Applying Collaborative Rationality to Wicked Problems

Venue: B117 Theatre, Basement level, Melbourne School of Design

Presenters: Professor Judith Innes

These days planners are faced with great uncertainty as the demands of players and interests proliferate and as traditional government institutions are becoming less effective in addressing public problems. Trust in government is at a low, as is trust in science and expertise. Things fall between the cracks of government with no one to make meaningful, feasible plans, much less take charge of complex tasks. The situation has created an institutional void—an uncharted space where actors are inventing new ways of making decisions and taking collective action. These new approaches most often involve collaboration among public agencies, private entities, NGOs and other stakeholders. They rely on multiple forms of knowledge, build relationships, engage in joint learning and frequently move forward jointly. Such methods are better suited than bureaucracy or legislative process for dealing with complexity, rapid change, and uncertainty of because they are more flexible, inclusive and better informed. This talk will lay out principles and practices for such collaborations to be effective, fair, and built on sound knowledge. These will be illustrated through case studies in California water management and regional sustainability. The bottom line is that collaboration, done properly, is a far more effective strategy for wicked problems than traditional analytic command and control.

In this lecture, Professor Judith Innes, UC Berkeley will discuss the challenges of planning in complexity.

from
https://events.unimelb.edu.au/events/7432-planning-in-complexity-applying-collaborative-rationality-to-wicked-problems