Decision analysis, as applied in this study, is a numeric approach to support decision making in complex and multiobjective selection problems. It was used interactively to participatory strategic planning of natural resources management in Kainuu by the Finnish Forest and Park Service. The parties defined their own goals through a multiattribute utility function. Due to interactivity, the parties could specify their goals by taking the production possibilities of the planning area and the connections between different goals into account.
The function of the interactive decision analysis (IDA) was to produce comprehensive decision support for a forest strategy selection. Such support would have been difficult to achieve otherwise. However, the IDA was not the only source of decision support. It was a part of a wider participation process where citizens and interest groups participated in the planning also through letters, open houses, phone, questionnaires, work groups, and public meetings. The results of the IDA were compared to participatory feedback received through other channels. The IDA was found applicable and worth developing further as a technique of participatory planning in the management of state owned forests.
