1 Rap : the Methodology

RAP (Rapid Assessment Program) is a user-friendly and lightweight software implementation of a methodology for rapid, integrated policy analysis. Areas of application for RAP are virtually unlimited but have so far been mainly focussed on water resources management and scenario development in environmental engineering. Using an attractive visual interface, RAP takes its user through the steps involved in systematic policy development. While the overall organisation of these steps is fairly generic, each step in itself is designed to contain project-specific information made available by the user. This paper discusses the RAP methodology, and puts particular focus on the qualitative cause-effect processing engine in a broader state-of the-art perspective. Other RAP features are also addressed, such as functionality to incorporate stakeholder valuation, and analytical tools for backtracking, loop detection and correlation analysis. INTRODUCTION Water, environment, climate change, and mobility are examples of complex fields of work, where policymaking is by no means a trivial matter. In a market saturated by heavy computational engines, mainly aimed at element-specific analysis, the urgency for an instrument supporting the process of integrated policy analysis was first recognised by the Dutch Land Water Environment Information Technology Programme (LWI). LWI initiated the design and development of what has today become the Rapid Assessment Programme (RAP): a user-friendly and lightweight software implementation of a methodology for rapid, integrated policy analysis. This paper discusses the RAP methodology, and puts particular focus on the causeeffect processing core in a broader state-of the-art perspective. Other RAP features are also addressed, such as functionality to incorporate stakeholder valuation, and analytical tools for backtracking, loop detection, and correlation analysis. RAP: THE METHODOLOGY Using a visually oriented interface, RAP takes its user through the steps involved in systematic policy development. While the overall organisation of these steps is fairly generic (Koudstaal [2]), each step in itself is designed to contain project-specific information made available by the user. The steps in RAP are described in the following paragraphs.