Policy exercises are described as "a flexible structured method designed to synthesize and assess knowledge from several relevant fields of science for policy purposes directed towards complex, practical management problems." Policy exercises allow for interaction between scientists, academics, and policy makers via scenario generation and scenario analyses via interactive policy creation and testing.
This toolbox entry has been labelled with the following tags:
| Sector: | independent | |
| Spatial scale: | independent | |
| Temporal focus: | future | |
| Onset: | independent | |
| Role in decision process: | diagnostic; prescriptive | |
| Level of skills required: | limited | |
| Data requirements: | limited | |
| Adaptation tasks: | Seek expert consensus |
Policy exercises can be used to identify possible adaptation options, or evaluate various options. This process is highlighted as being beneficial in phases of regional adaptation studies, either in helping to structure the problem or determine if policy responses are complementary or not.
There are a number of documents written about policy exercises, which can be found in the References section. These should guide the user toward a greater understanding of the process involved in carrying out a policy exercise.
Brewer, G.D. and M. Shubik. 1979. The War of Game: A Critique of Military Problem Solving. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Toth, F.L. and E. Hizsnyik. 2005. Managing the inconceivable: participatory assessments of impacts and responses to extreme climate change. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. Working Paper FNU74.
Toth, F.L. 1992a. Global change and the cross-cultural transfer of policy games. In Global Interdependence. D. Crookall and K. Arai (Eds.). Springer, Tokyo, pp. 208-215.
Toth, F.L. 1992b. Policy implications. In The Potential Socioeconomic Effects of Climate Change in South-East Asia, M.L. Parr, M. Blantran de Rozari, A.L. Chong, and S. Panich (eds.). United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya, pp. 109-121.
Toth, F.L. 1992c. Policy responses to climate change in Southeast Asia. In The Regions and Global Warming: Impacts and Response Strategies, J. Schmandt and J. Clarkson (eds.) Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 304-322.
Toth, F.L. 2003. State of the art and future challenges for integrated environmental assessment. Integrated Assessment 4(4):250-264.
weADAPT case studies identified for this toolbox entry:
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Ecosystems, Development and Climate Adaptation: Improving the base for policies, planning and management
The coastal zone of Belize constitutes over 50% of the national territory. It is home to more than half of the population and supports a wide diversity of ecosystems, including the second longest barrier reef in the world. The coastal and marine ecosystems in Belize are essential to a number of human activities that sustain household and national economies, notably activities in tourism, fisheries and agriculture... |
