Developing a participative multi criteria decision making technique: a case study

Multi criteria decision making (MCDM) has become widely used to facilitate decision making. This study reports on the development and evaluation of a participative MCDM method, 'simple multi attribute rating technique for enhanced stakeholder take-up' (SMARTEST), designed for high levels of stakeholder involvement through an iterative process. In a case study of recovery from acidifying pollution of a river in Scotland, six options were evaluated against 12 criteria. Stakeholders participated fully in seven of the ten stages of the process and partially engaged in two others. The use of SMARTEST was effective in helping stakeholders gain insights into the decision making process of themselves and each other.