A Web GIS collaborative framework to structure and manage distributed planning processes

Rapidly changing planning contexts, new stakeholder demands, and intensified natural resource conflicts have resulted in questions about the adequacy of traditional resource planning. These questions include the lack of representation of some stakeholder groups (equity) and the inability to actively participate (access) in the planning stages due to the synchronous and place-based protocols of the process. A deficiency in equity and access reduces the wider acceptance of planning outcomes and on claims about democratic decision-making. In this study, the Web GIS Collaborative Spatial Delphi framework was designed to create a distributed, collaborative, and continual setting to address equity and access. Cognitive mapping, the Delphi procedure, and consensus approaches are the main components integrated to structure a shared virtual space for problem-solving and planning. Web mapping tools, priority ranking and rating, exploratory map analysis, and data visualizations provide analytical support. The framework is based on participant recommendations from summative evaluations of four planning workshops. The implications of the framework and future directions are discussed. This research is part of a wider program to design effective planning and decision-making tools on the Web. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004