Preference Elicitation and Sensitivity Analysis in Multi-Criteria Group Decision Support for Nuclear Remediation Management

The resolution of complex decision situations in crisis and remediation management following a man-made or natural emergency usually requires input from different disciplines and fields of expertise. Contributing to transparency and traceability of decisions and taking subjective preferences into account, multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is suitable to involve various stakeholder and expert groups in the decision making process who may have diverse background knowledge and different views, responsibilities and interests. The focus of this paper is to highlight the role of MCDA in nuclear emergency and remediation management on the basis of a hypothetical case study. Special emphasis is placed on the modelling of the decision makers’ preferences. The aim is to explore the sensitivity of decision processes to simultaneous variations of the subjective preference parameters and consequently to contribute to a facilitation of the preference modelling process by comprehensibly visualising and communicating the impact of the preferential uncertainties on the results of the decision analysis.