Group Model-Building to Support Public Policy: Addressing a Conflicted Situation in a Problem Neighbourhood

Abstract

This paper evaluates a group model-building project concerning safety in a city neighbourhood. Stakeholders such as inhabitants, housing association managers, and police were directly involved in constructing a system dynamics model of their situation and defining actions to improve safety. Evaluation studies of group model-building typically assume that participants in modelling sessions share their insights, and in turn, the information exchanged changes their opinions. The modelling project addressed in this paper concerns a messy problem in a public multi-organizational setting, a situation characterized by ambiguity and conflict. We show that modelling in an ambiguous and conflicted situation helps participants to exchange information and change their opinions on the issue, even when not all conflicts are openly discussed. Group model-building positively impacts the quality of conclusions reached. The paper ends with a discussion of limitations and areas for future research.