Managing Multi-actor Decision-making

The TPM Master on Complex Systems Engineering combines three major perspectives: Technology, Institutions and Actors. The course ‘Managing multi-actor decision-making’ (SEN114), focuses on actors and more specifically their interests, needs, values, relations and processes of decision making.

In many cases, a ‘traditional’ top down, linear development of a systems engineering design is no longer possible due to interdependencies between collaborating actors: including different sets of expertise from different academic disciplines, and engineering traditions. Therefore, engineering designs for complex socio-technical systems are often being developed at negotiation tables, in cocreation sessions, and decided upon in various (institutionalized) decision making arenas.  

This course teaches future engineers a variety of advanced decision making and governance processes to analyse and develop decision making processes that better include multi-actor perspectives in the design of complex-socio-technical systems. These processes include ‘stakeholder management’, and more advanced forms of governance such as transition management and collaborative and adaptive governance.

Students will

(1) acquire knowledge about the concepts and methods to analyse the formal roles, interests, problem framing and sources of power of individual and collective actors in the system- as well as their interdependencies and networks.

(2) acquire knowledge about the concepts and methods to design forms of multi-actor decision making and governance that are aiming to realize change in the decision making process and through that in coping with complex, wicked socio-technical systems.

Based on three real -life cases in the areas of energy, mobility, and digitalization, students will apply theories and methods and develop skills to identify stakeholders, their networks and their type of interactions in order to design and manage decision making processes about engineering interventions that contribute to positive change. Often this means a process design and management that encourages interdependent actors to move from negotiations to more collaborative and adaptive forms of governing.