Investigating flood resilience perceptions and supporting collective decision-making through fuzzy cognitive mapping

This study investigates how a combination of modelling and measurement methods can help decision-makers with their flood resilience strategies. It applies a participatory system thinking approach combining Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) with a flood resilience measurement framework called Flood Resilience Measurement for Communities (FRMC). Improving flood resilience of communities requires a holistic understanding of risks and resilience options as well as the preferences and priorities of different stakeholders. Innovations in risk and resilience assessment have helped communities to identify gaps in their flood risk management strategy but selecting and implementing resilience solutions remains a big challenge for many decision-makers.

Developed in close collaboration with the local authorities, the ambition is to support decision-making on flood resilience interventions. The study finds that this combination of methods enables system-level thinking and inclusive decision-making about flood resilience which can ultimately encourage transformative decisions on prioritization of actions and investments.