Toolbox of Decision Support Systems

Envirolink Decision Support Systems (DSS) Directory Project

The Envirolink DSS Directory provides an information portal for Regional and Unitary council staff to access background information on a wide range of modelling and decision support tools relevant to their business needs.

The DSS Directory Project was first developed in 2012 and has subsequently been reviewed and updated in 2018.  Funding for initial development and the update has been provided by Envirolink Tools grants.

The DSS Directory can be found under the tools tab on the Envirolink website or at: http://tools.envirolink.govt.nz/(external link)

The project was initiated and championed by Dr Beat Huser of Waikato Regional Council.  Beat explains that the aim of the directory is to provide a “one-stop shop” for users with an understanding of both spatial and non-spatial publicly available models and decision frameworks that have been created to assist policy development in New Zealand. 

“The range of models and systems that have been developed to support our decision making is huge and we can gain real benefits from using these tools to assist us in our work.  The challenge for us is to know what is available, how it can be applied and how it can support our planning and decision making.  Having a directory to call on makes this task more manageable and effective”. 

The directory is divided into 12 resource management domains to help with searching. 

The directory currently contains information on 77 models or frameworks, and for each tool provides an overview and summarises key attributes (metadata).  Where available, a case study of how a particular tool has been applied is presented to illustrate how it can be used.  At present there are over 48 case studies loaded in the directory.

Tony Fenton, who assisted councils to build the directory and also did the recent review and update, says it is designed to be current and there is access to a suggestions box and the opportunity to provide information on other tools and case studies to further enhance the directory.

Beat says the directory provides a useful knowledge base for council staff wanting to know what tools are available and how they have been applied in New Zealand. This can help them then select the best tools for their current needs.