The Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute [1] in Rüschlikon/Zurich, Switzerland executed a creative workshop for members of the Swiss water economy in October 2015. In cooperation with partners from science, economy and culture the participants discussed extreme scenarios for the management of water supply and distribution. LiquidFeedback [2] was used to discuss, comment and evaluate several scenarios. The workshop also revealed the chances provided by LiquidFeedback for restructuring currently static procedures and complex processes.
Björn Swierczek, Board Member of the Association for Interactive Democracy, who was in charge for the LiquidFeedback part in Rüschlikon summarizes: “Up to now LiquidFeedback is mainly known for its use in political parties and civic participation. In cooperation with the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute we were able to reveal the potential of LiquidFeedback in the economy. Democratic knowledge management to solve complex problems can easily be accomplished using LiquidFeedback.”
The creative workshop was part of a multistage process for the study “When water becomes the new oil. How Switzerland will handle the conflicts of the future.” which the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute created on behalf of The Swiss Water Association (VSA). The study was published in German (with a French abstract) in May 2016 [3]. The authors Marta Kwiatkowski [4] and Bettina Höchli illustrate how a “Liquid Decision” model can respond to the challenges Switzerlands water economy will encounter.
[1] gdi.ch
