FANFAR: Reinforced cooperation to provide operational flood forecasting and alerts in West Africa
About the project
Flooding is a rapidly growing concern in West Africa, projected to increase with climate change. It is both a threat and a blessing for human lives, agriculture, and infrastructure. There is a great need for reliable access to operational flood forecasts and alerts produced by a robust information and communication technology (ICT) system adapted to regional conditions and operated by capable West African institutions.
The aim of FANFAR is to reinforce the cooperation between West African and European hydrologists, ICT experts, decision analysts, and end-user communities to provide a co-designed, co-adapted, integrated, and co-operated streamflow forecasting and alert pilot system for West Africa.
End-users will participate in regular workshops and virtual meetings aiming to demonstrate the ICT, define user needs, co-design necessary adaptations, and develop capacity.
Eawag is in charge of Work Package 2: User needs, tests, and behavioural responses
A key objective of FANFAR is to develop relevant technology that responds to the specific needs and preferences of hydro-innovation stakeholders and information end-users in West Africa. Hence, the ICT development is a technical task, but also requires adaptation to user needs. During the ICT development, various decisions will have to be made. These concern, for example, output products, distribution channels, alert levels, data sources, and economic constraints.
To support this, FANFAR will apply Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and approaches from Behavioral Operational Research (BOR). Our main interventions focus on the co-design workshops in West Africa. We will use a framework to guide the West African decision makers and stakeholders through a structured decision-making process. Additionally, we aim at understanding the factors shaping the participants’ responses. The knowledge gained from these processes will help to take into account and synthesize all relevant information. This shall aid technology development decisions and adoption processes aiming to facilitate the sustainable uptake of the ICT flood forecast and alert system in West Africa.
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description => protected'Public decisions are typically related to large investments leaving long leg acies. We should therefore strive for wide societal agreement regarding such decisions, which meet the diversity of preferences between stakeholders and over time. But if, how and why do stakeholder preferences change over time? In decision analysis, these questions received little attention. We explore d them using three real-world public decision processes, based on Multi-Crit eria Decision Analysis (MCDA). We used repeatedly elicited ranking of object ives over time. These were obtained during three to five moderated workshops we organised several months apart (total N = 200 questionnaires, and 100 st akeholders). We analysed individual and aggregated (group) preferences, thei r changes and potential drivers including demographic and experience variabl es. We also analysed the effect of preference evolution on the performance o f decision-alternatives with MCDA over time. We found that stakeholder prefe rences often changed over time, both on an individual and group level. These changes did not systematically diminish over time, but some convergence of preferences was observed for stakeholders who repeatedly participated in wor kshops. High-ranking objectives were relatively stable and similar between s takeholders. While preference changes could not be explained by demographics and personal experiences, repeated interaction with the decision problem mi ght play a role. Neither the observed disagreement between stakeholders, nor the preference changes over time affected the best and worst performing alt ernatives in our decision problems. Thus, despite changing stakeholder prefe rences over time, public decision-makers can contrive robust solutions to co mplex public decision problems in the present.' (1794 chars)
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description => protected'Climate change is projected to increase flood risks in western Africa. In th e FANFAR project, a pre-operational flood early warning system (FEWS) for we stern Africa was co-designed in workshops with 50–60 stakeholders from 17 countries, adopting multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). We aimed at (i) designing a FEWS with western African stakeholders using MCDA and (ii) eval uating participatory MCDA as a transdisciplinary process. To achieve the fir st aim (i), we used MCDA methods for problem structuring and preference elic itation in workshops. Problem structuring included stakeholder analysis, cre ating 10 objectives to be achieved by the FANFAR FEWS and designing 11 possi ble FEWS configurations. Experts predicted FEWS configuration performance, w hich we integrated with stakeholder preferences. We tested MCDA results in s ensitivity analyses. Three FEWSs showed good performance, despite uncertaint y, and were robust across different preferences. For stakeholders it was mos t important that the FEWS produces accurate, clear, timely, and accessible f lood risk information. To achieve the second aim (ii), we clustered common c haracteristics of collaborative governance frameworks from the sustainabilit y science and transdisciplinary literature. Our framework emphasizes issues crucial to the earth systems sciences, such as uncertainty and integrating i nterdisciplinary knowledge. MCDA can address both well. Other strengths of M CDA are co-producing knowledge with stakeholders and providing a consistent methodology with unambiguous, shared results. Participatory MCDA including p roblem structuring can contribute to co-designing a project but does not ach ieve later phases of transdisciplinary processes well, such as co-disseminat ing and evaluating results. We encourage colleagues to use MCDA and the prop osed framework for evaluating transdisciplinary hydrology research that enga ges with stakeholders and society.' (1934 chars)
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description => protected'As climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of floods aroun d the globe, adaptation is increasingly vital. Besides structural measures t o mitigate flood risk, non-structural measures are known to be highly effect ive and low-cost. Such non-structural measures include Flood Early Warning S ystems (FEWS). Effective warning creation and dissemination are crucial to s uccessful FEWS. Despite extensive bodies of research that cross the boundari es between disciplines and application domains, systematic understanding of the detailed aspects contributing to the effectiveness of flood warnings is lacking. We systematically review the state-of-the-art in risk perception an d warning communication present in academic (and grey) literature for FEWS. We focus on the elements of risk warnings specifically, rather than reviewin g the topic of risk communication in general. We start with exploring how pe rsonal attributes affect individual risk perception related to flood warning s. We then deconstruct flood warnings into three basic components: content, format and dissemination channel. Most importantly, we found 21 individual e lements (options) for these components, each associated with varying levels of support for their effectiveness in literature. Important caveats were ide ntified, such as a lack of research into the speech format and SMS channel. We then describe and visualise the warning creation process, providing a fra mework for guidance. Accelerating technological advancement necessitates con tinued research into the effectiveness of novel formats and channels, render ing the currently most widely supported and researched elements increasingly obsolete. Further research is needed to explore the complex interplay betwe en elements, i.e., how do different combinations impact effectiveness? Final ly, little is known about the transferability of our findings to Africa, Asi a and South America, as industrialised countries dominate the research. We h ope our findings will co...' (2098 chars)
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description => protected'The FANFAR project (rein<em>F</em>orced cooper<em>A</em>tion to provide oper atio<em>N</em>al <em>F</em>lood forecasting and <em>A</em>lerts in West Af<e m>R</em>ica), funded by the European Commission (2018-2020), aims to foster reinforced cooperation between key West African and European organisations. The project focuses on developing a system according to West African user ne eds and priorities, identified through a set of workshops. The third worksho p was hosted by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) and took p lace at Hotel De Bently (2020.02.10-14), in Abuja, Nigeria. In total, the wo rkshop hosted 58 participants, including the consortium partners. Additional ly, two representatives from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), wh o are FANFAR advisory board members, were present the entire week. At the op ening session, the director general of NIHSA, the director general of AGRHYM ET, the head of economic cooperation & energy at the EU delegation to Ni geria and ECOWAS, and the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria were also present. T he workshop even made it to the national Nigerian TV and newspapers (AIT new s, Nigerian Pilot, Sundiata Post). The representatives from hydrological age ncies and emergency management agencies on the regional and national level f rom 16 countries in West Africa contributed substantially to achieve the pro ject goals. [...]' (1385 chars)
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description => protected'The FANFAR project (rein<em>F</em>orced cooper<em>A</em>tion to provide oper atio<em>N</em>al<em> F</em>lood forecasting and Alerts in West Af<em>R</em>i ca), funded by the European Commission (2018-2020), aims to foster reinforce d co-operation between key West African and European organisations. The proj ect focuses on devel-oping a system according to West African user needs and priorities, identified through a set of workshops. The first workshop took place at the AGRHYMET Regional Center (2018.09.17–20), in Niamey, Niger. R epresentatives from hydrological agencies and emergency management agen-cies on the regional and national level from 17 countries in West Africa contrib uted substantially to achieve the project goals. In this workshop, the main objective was to co-design the flood forecast-ing and alert system in West A frica by: 1) clarifying user objectives, needs, and preferences, 2) receivin g feedback on the currently available FANFAR forecast and alert system proto types, and 3) on acknowledging which stakeholders should be involved. Theref ore, several activities were performed. To identify which objectives are imp ortant for the participants for developing a flood forecasting and alert sys tem; several exercises were performed and allowed us to prioritize the follo wing objectives by order of preference: High accuracy of data and informatio n outputs, Timely dissemination of flood alerts, High Reliability, Clear def inition of alert thresholds, and Reliable ac-cess to data & information outputs. The activities performed to understand the matching between expecta tions and the current development status of the FANFAR prototype systems for the flood forecast production (Hydrology-TEP) and visualization portal, all owed to focus on identifying pos-sible system options (how the system should be configured to meet the objectives) through key questions or drivers: 1) the easiest-to-use system, 2) the most attractive system for West-Africa, an d 3) the most robust sys...' (2549 chars)
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Preference change in stakeholder group-decision processes in the public sector: extent, causes and implications
Public decisions are typically related to large investments leaving long legacies. We should therefore strive for wide societal agreement regarding such decisions, which meet the diversity of preferences between stakeholders and over time. But if, how and why do stakeholder preferences change over time? In decision analysis, these questions received little attention. We explored them using three real-world public decision processes, based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). We used repeatedly elicited ranking of objectives over time. These were obtained during three to five moderated workshops we organised several months apart (total N = 200 questionnaires, and 100 stakeholders). We analysed individual and aggregated (group) preferences, their changes and potential drivers including demographic and experience variables. We also analysed the effect of preference evolution on the performance of decision-alternatives with MCDA over time. We found that stakeholder preferences often changed over time, both on an individual and group level. These changes did not systematically diminish over time, but some convergence of preferences was observed for stakeholders who repeatedly participated in workshops. High-ranking objectives were relatively stable and similar between stakeholders. While preference changes could not be explained by demographics and personal experiences, repeated interaction with the decision problem might play a role. Neither the observed disagreement between stakeholders, nor the preference changes over time affected the best and worst performing alternatives in our decision problems. Thus, despite changing stakeholder preferences over time, public decision-makers can contrive robust solutions to complex public decision problems in the present.
Kuller, M.; Beutler, P.; Lienert, J. (2023) Preference change in stakeholder group-decision processes in the public sector: extent, causes and implications, European Journal of Operational Research, 308, 1268-1285, doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2022.12.001, Institutional Repository
Lienert, J.; Andersson, J.; Hofmann, D.; Silva Pinto, F.; Kuller, M. (2022) How to co-design a flood early warning system (FEWS) for West Africa, Water Science Policy, (4 pp.), doi:10.53014/CBJJ5560, Institutional Repository
The role of multi-criteria decision analysis in a transdisciplinary process: co-developing a flood forecasting system in western Africa
Climate change is projected to increase flood risks in western Africa. In the FANFAR project, a pre-operational flood early warning system (FEWS) for western Africa was co-designed in workshops with 50–60 stakeholders from 17 countries, adopting multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). We aimed at (i) designing a FEWS with western African stakeholders using MCDA and (ii) evaluating participatory MCDA as a transdisciplinary process. To achieve the first aim (i), we used MCDA methods for problem structuring and preference elicitation in workshops. Problem structuring included stakeholder analysis, creating 10 objectives to be achieved by the FANFAR FEWS and designing 11 possible FEWS configurations. Experts predicted FEWS configuration performance, which we integrated with stakeholder preferences. We tested MCDA results in sensitivity analyses. Three FEWSs showed good performance, despite uncertainty, and were robust across different preferences. For stakeholders it was most important that the FEWS produces accurate, clear, timely, and accessible flood risk information. To achieve the second aim (ii), we clustered common characteristics of collaborative governance frameworks from the sustainability science and transdisciplinary literature. Our framework emphasizes issues crucial to the earth systems sciences, such as uncertainty and integrating interdisciplinary knowledge. MCDA can address both well. Other strengths of MCDA are co-producing knowledge with stakeholders and providing a consistent methodology with unambiguous, shared results. Participatory MCDA including problem structuring can contribute to co-designing a project but does not achieve later phases of transdisciplinary processes well, such as co-disseminating and evaluating results. We encourage colleagues to use MCDA and the proposed framework for evaluating transdisciplinary hydrology research that engages with stakeholders and society.
Lienert, J.; Andersson, J. C. M.; Hofmann, D.; Silva Pinto, F.; Kuller, M. (2022) The role of multi-criteria decision analysis in a transdisciplinary process: co-developing a flood forecasting system in western Africa, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 26(11), 2899-2922, doi:10.5194/hess-26-2899-2022, Institutional Repository
Creating effective flood warnings: a framework from a critical review
As climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of floods around the globe, adaptation is increasingly vital. Besides structural measures to mitigate flood risk, non-structural measures are known to be highly effective and low-cost. Such non-structural measures include Flood Early Warning Systems (FEWS). Effective warning creation and dissemination are crucial to successful FEWS. Despite extensive bodies of research that cross the boundaries between disciplines and application domains, systematic understanding of the detailed aspects contributing to the effectiveness of flood warnings is lacking. We systematically review the state-of-the-art in risk perception and warning communication present in academic (and grey) literature for FEWS. We focus on the elements of risk warnings specifically, rather than reviewing the topic of risk communication in general. We start with exploring how personal attributes affect individual risk perception related to flood warnings. We then deconstruct flood warnings into three basic components: content, format and dissemination channel. Most importantly, we found 21 individual elements (options) for these components, each associated with varying levels of support for their effectiveness in literature. Important caveats were identified, such as a lack of research into the speech format and SMS channel. We then describe and visualise the warning creation process, providing a framework for guidance. Accelerating technological advancement necessitates continued research into the effectiveness of novel formats and channels, rendering the currently most widely supported and researched elements increasingly obsolete. Further research is needed to explore the complex interplay between elements, i.e., how do different combinations impact effectiveness? Finally, little is known about the transferability of our findings to Africa, Asia and South America, as industrialised countries dominate the research. We hope our findings will contribute to improved understanding, and support the practice of creating effective flood warnings.
Report on the co-design workshops in FANFAR to create a flood forecast and alert system for West Africa
We describe the co-design process to create a co-adapted, integrated and sustainable FANFAR flood forecast and alert system in West Africa. It is based on a structured Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework that guides the participants of four co-design workshops and the FANFAR consortium through problem structuring phases, including stakeholder analysis, agreeing on objectives and options (FANFAR system configurations), eliciting expert predictions and stakeholder preferences and assessing the performance of system options based on these input data. We also introduce interactions with participants in and between the co-design workshops (e.g. rainy season surveys) concerning their experiences with floods in West Africa and with using the FANFAR flood forecast and alert system. This includes feedback on the FANFAR technical system components from hands-on practical sessions in the FANFAR co-design workshops. In this report, we focus strongly on the methods, and also present preliminary results. [...]
Lienert, J.; Andersson, J.; Hofmann, D.; Silva Pinto, F.; Kuller, M. (2020) Report on the co-design workshops in FANFAR to create a flood forecast and alert system for West Africa, 29 p, Institutional Repository
Report of FANFAR Workshop 3. Executive report
The FANFAR project (reinForced cooperAtion to provide operatioNal Flood forecasting and Alerts in West AfRica), funded by the European Commission (2018-2020), aims to foster reinforced cooperation between key West African and European organisations. The project focuses on developing a system according to West African user needs and priorities, identified through a set of workshops. The third workshop was hosted by the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) and took place at Hotel De Bently (2020.02.10-14), in Abuja, Nigeria. In total, the workshop hosted 58 participants, including the consortium partners. Additionally, two representatives from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), who are FANFAR advisory board members, were present the entire week. At the opening session, the director general of NIHSA, the director general of AGRHYMET, the head of economic cooperation & energy at the EU delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, and the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria were also present. The workshop even made it to the national Nigerian TV and newspapers (AIT news, Nigerian Pilot, Sundiata Post). The representatives from hydrological agencies and emergency management agencies on the regional and national level from 16 countries in West Africa contributed substantially to achieve the project goals. [...]
Kuller, M.; Andersson, J.; Lienert, J. (2020) Report of FANFAR Workshop 3. Executive report, 11 p, Institutional Repository
Stakeholder feedback report FANFAR workshop 2
The FANFAR project (reinForced cooperAtion to provide operatioNal Flood forecasting and Alerts in West AfRica), funded by the European Commission (2018-2020), aims to foster rein-forced cooperation between key West African and European organisations. The project focuses on developing a system according to West African user needs and priorities, identified through a set of workshops. The second workshop was hosted by the Hydrological Services Department of Ghana and took place at the Ange Hill Hotel (2019.04.09-12), in Accra, Ghana. Representatives from hydrological agencies and emergency management agencies on the regional and national level from 17 countries in West Africa contributed substantially to achieve the project goals. In this workshop, the main objectives regarding work package 2 were to further co-design the flood forecasting and alert system in West Africa by: 1) consolidating user objectives and preferences; 2) assessing the progress done on the FANFAR prototype systems since workshop 1; and 3) preparing the participants to test the system in 2019. Therefore, several activities were per-formed. To consolidate which objectives are important for the participants for developing a flood forecasting and alert system and how important those objectives are, several exercises were per-formed that allowed us to better understand the preferences. Regarding objectives, special im-portance was given to: high accuracy of information; clear flood risk information; reliable access to information; and timely production, distribution and access to information. The activities performed to understand the matching between expectations and the current develop-ment status of the FANFAR prototype systems for the flood forecast production; the (Hydrology-TEP), interactive visualization portal, integrated support systems, and flood risk communication features, allowed to focus on identifying possible improvements. The results obtained are promis-ing and we look forward to continuing the co-design process and improve the systems in the next workshops.
The FANFAR project (reinForced cooperAtion to provide operatioNal Flood forecasting and Alerts in West AfRica), funded by the European Commission (2018-2020), aims to foster reinforced co-operation between key West African and European organisations. The project focuses on devel-oping a system according to West African user needs and priorities, identified through a set of workshops. The first workshop took place at the AGRHYMET Regional Center (2018.09.17–20), in Niamey, Niger. Representatives from hydrological agencies and emergency management agen-cies on the regional and national level from 17 countries in West Africa contributed substantially to achieve the project goals. In this workshop, the main objective was to co-design the flood forecast-ing and alert system in West Africa by: 1) clarifying user objectives, needs, and preferences, 2) receiving feedback on the currently available FANFAR forecast and alert system prototypes, and 3) on acknowledging which stakeholders should be involved. Therefore, several activities were performed. To identify which objectives are important for the participants for developing a flood forecasting and alert system; several exercises were performed and allowed us to prioritize the following objectives by order of preference: High accuracy of data and information outputs, Timely dissemination of flood alerts, High Reliability, Clear definition of alert thresholds, and Reliable ac-cess to data & information outputs. The activities performed to understand the matching between expectations and the current development status of the FANFAR prototype systems for the flood forecast production (Hydrology-TEP) and visualization portal, allowed to focus on identifying pos-sible system options (how the system should be configured to meet the objectives) through key questions or drivers: 1) the easiest-to-use system, 2) the most attractive system for West-Africa, and 3) the most robust system; i.e. that works in all West Africa. To conclude, an exercise was developed to identify key stakeholders to be involved in the continued development process of the system. A social science framework was used to identify stakeholders that would desire to continue their involvement in co-design activities and those that may be interested in participating in future co-design activities. The results obtained are very promising and allow us to look forward to con-tinuing the co-design process and improve the FANFAR system in the next workshops.
Silva Pinto, F.; Lienert, J. (2019) Executive report of the FANFAR workshop 1, 8 p, Institutional Repository
Silva Pinto, F.; Lienert, J. (2018) Report activities to establish co-design committee, stakeholder analysis, 48 p, Institutional Repository
