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For well over 20 years now, the Research Institute for Knowledge Systems bv (RIKS) has been implementing state of the art research in software tools to support planners and policy makers by allowing them to assess and analyse the impacts of future policy decisions. Our main activities concern the design, development and use of innovative computer-based information systems for integrated spatial planning and socio-environmental policy making. To perform these activities RIKS has an experienced team of scientists and software developers with backgrounds in among others geography, computer sciences, economics, social sciences, GIS and water management.
The main use of our systems is related to what-if analysis and impact assessment studies. They allow the user to get a deep understanding of the linked social, economic and environmental processes that evolve within the given physical and institutional constraints of the region and/or systems studied. At the same time, our modelling frameworks and Decision Support Systems provide enough abstraction and a user-friendly interface for non-experts to work with them. As part of the implementation of systems in the institutional processes of our customers, RIKS regularly holds workshops and training sessions to evaluate the way its systems are used and to fine-tune it to policy users’ needs. Continuous feedback loops between users and scientists have been an integral part of the way projects are executed by RIKS employees for years.
Our research and development has been carried out in the context of projects funded by amongst other the European Commission, Dutch, Irish, German, Puerto Rican and New Zealand governments and government agencies and private investments. RIKS has participated in and coordinated several large EC research projects under the umbrellas of FP4, 5 and 6 and continues to play a leading role in the field of land use modelling, model integration and linking scientific knowledge to policy support.
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