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Decision making can be a subjective or an objective process, which is often dynamic. For this reason, it can sometimes be difficult to comprehend whether a decision has actually been made.

Most decisions depend on our perspectives, our judgements and how we value the the factors involved. Many planners attempt to make rational approaches using different techniques (below), but many people believe that our decisions can only be rational up to a point, because the human mind has problems of comprehension, memory, attention and communication.

It is very useful to see problems as opportunities when approaching decision making, which can often produce favourable results.

When the term "environmenal decision making" is used, it has to be taken with a pinch of salt. The word "environment" is very subjective and can refer to biophysical factors, or most commonly, all three elements of sustainable development - the economy, the environment and society.

Decision making can be affected by almost any direct or indirect aspect, such as power relations, temporal and spatial factors, paradigms, opinions, scales and budgets, for example.

There are various techniques, which can aid the decision making process. If you would like further information about each of the techniques please feel free to contact us.

A few techniques
BackcastingBrainstormingMultiple cause diagramsInfluence diagramsSystems mapsCost-benefit analyses (CBA)Environmental impact assessments (EIA)Conceptual modellingPredictive mathematical models

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