OBJECTIVES

• To provide information at interdisciplinary level to people with different knowledge, background and technical skills. This information should foster discussions and debate among interest groups affected by the decision that will be taken.
• To ensure that all stakeholders are or will be involved when launching the participatory process. In that sense the DSS provides a framework for consensus building. It is a tool to support negotiations and thereby the process of decision making. The exploration of possible future scenarios supports the handling of what is complex.
• To make the users familiar with the hydrological, ecological, sociological and economic description of the catchment areas implemented within the DSS, since otherwise the users will neither trust the tool, nor the necessary negotiation process. Because of the complexity of the problems related to the management of groundwater, the DSS should help the user to reach the ability to grasp the complex links, which have to be taken into account when deciding about water-management topics.
• To develop user-friendly tools, which means as simple as possible to use and intuitive. Users should receive clear and not overly complicated information, but issues should not be oversimplified. The users need to find the best trade-off on a case-by-case approach, according to available knowledge and level of involvement in the decision-making process. That means: simplifying complexity, but credibly and at the highest scientific and quality level.