Supporting Decision Making

Life is full of decisions, some easy and some tough. Learning and applying decision-making skills -- in communities, boardrooms, classrooms, and on the land -- can help us to realize both the promise and the perils that accompany our choices.


Robin's work uses insights from the decision sciences to help people become more confident decision makers, articulating what matters (to themselves and those they care about) and finding ways to achieve more of what they want.  Tools from the decision sciences can help to make sense of what may feel like a confusing and even overwhelming world that keeps throwing choices at us, with the result that people too often turn to others for insights (even though they may differ greatly in their objectives) or access highly inaccurate information.  But making decisions well is a skill, just like cooking or playing the guitar or driving a car -- the difference is that most people haven't had support in making decisions.

Our decisions shape our lives.

The only way we can help to shape the world we live in is through the decisions we make.  Everyone can tell stories about how the choices they've made have sometimes resulted in happiness and satisfaction or, at other times, in sadness and frustration. Yet most adults have never received training in how to make good choices. Supporting people as they sort out their choices -- listening to what matters, coming up with new options, identifying their likely consequences --can enhance the lives of individuals, communities, and nations.

Good decisions rely on
4 main elements.

Getting clear about the decision frame and identifying what matters (to yourself and others) by relying on both intuition and reflection
Coming up with a range of creative and realistic options, ones that speak to what you care about as an active decision maker
Understanding differences in consequences and recognizing the role of uncertainty -- how likely is it that outcomes will take place?
Having the courage to face up to the tough trade-offs (rather than hoping they disappear, which they won't) and, over time, learning what works and what doesn't

Humans are not naturally good decision makers: we overly rely on our emotions and habits and we're subject to biases such as myopia and overconfidence. However most adults think they are pretty good at making choices, whether in their personal life or at work.  A common response is along the lines of: "Well, I've made it this far, haven't I?" Yet tumbling along is not the same as recognizing and being curious about decision opportunities or making choices that reflect who you are. 

Research has clearly shown that all humans are wired pretty much the same way, regardless of age or education. It helps to know something about the ways in which decisions can go awry, but knowledge is not a cure.  Experts are often wrong in their predictions, people often fail to adapt to new situations, and all of us tend to be overconfident about our own abilities and observations.   A structured, sequenced decision-making process can help account for these factors when decisions are being made, whether by a government-appointed panel or an Indigenous council, a tenth-grade class or members of a local NGO. And even then, all the things that are out of our control (the weather, actions of other people, political shifts) can unravel even the best of our decision-making hopes.

Robin is a strong believer in the fallibility of unaided human decision making and the judgements that people make. Experts are often wrong in their predictions, people often fail to adapt to new situations, and all of us tend to be overconfident about our own abilities and observations.  A structured, sequenced decision-making process can help.

Supporting Decisions: Examples

Teenage
Decision-making

Robin and colleagues have partnered with teachers to develop topic-based and grade-appropriate curricula that support and improve student decision making as well as the related skills of listening, compassion, and group problem solving. Much of this work is summarized on the website <deltalearns.ca.>
Community Stakeholders

Communites face tough choices relating to how they can best adapt to and mitigate effects from climate change, resource development, and changing employment opportunities. Robin and colleagues help citizens to articulate their concerns and create a shared path forward focused on community goals.
Indigenous
Resources
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Recognition of rights and Title by governments, industry, and courts creates new opportunities for traditional, cultural and place-based management practices. The work of Robin and colleagues seeks to define new alternatives that advance the near- and long-term goals of Indigenous leaders and community members.
Government
Planning

Governments are faced with the challenging task of satisfying diverse perspectives while keeping costs reasonable. Robin and colleagues use transparent decision-making processes to identify broadly acceptable policies that protect the environment while recognizing economic, cultural, and social concerns.

Sorting Out Our Choices, Individual and Group

The Decision Playbook, co-authored in 2019 by Robin with the District school principal Brooke Moore and decision-science colleagues Lee Failing and Graham Long, provides an accessible introduction to a decision-making approach that we've termed "decision-maker moves."  As summarized below, they outline a common-sense sequenced process (based on the PrOACT model of Keeney, Raiffa and Hammond) for making decisions that is widely used -- in North America, Europe, and internationally -- to support good choices by youth and adults.
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Frame the decision
‍What am I really deciding?
▶
Clarify what matters
‍What do I want?
▶
Generate options
‍How can I achieve what I want?
▶
Explore consequences
‍What could happen?
▶
Weigh trade-offs
‍What is best, all things considered?
▶
Stay curious
‍What do I need to learn or adjust?

A new book

This collaboration between Robin and Brook presents a practical,  example-filled and science-based approach to how you can learn to support young people in making good decisions for themselves.
By the end of this book, our hope is that you and the kids you support will know how to use the Decision Maker Moves on a wide variety of choices, ranging from the minor decisions made every day to the staggering, once-in-a-lifetime choices that create stress, confusion, and frustration for many of us. Our goal is to encourage kids and adults to become familiar with an easy-to-grasp and flexible process that will lead to making better choices. By bundling these ideas as Decision Maker Moves, and by highlighting some of the ways people frequently go off track when making decisions, we hope to make it easy for youth to recognize and embrace the power of their own decision-making opportunities.
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Cambridge University Press (2024)

A new book

This collaboration between Robin and Brook, based on decades of teaching experiences in K-12 and University classrooms, is written for adults who live or work with teenagers. It presents a science-based approach to how you can become a confident "decision mentor" by learning to support young people in making good decisions for themselves.
Cambridge University Press (2024)

Featured Publications

Decision-making Support

Acceptable input: Using decision analysis to guide public policy deliberations.

2005. R. Gregory, B. Fischhoff, T. McDaniels. Decision Analysis 2: pp 4-16.

Selecting attributes to measure the achievement of objectives.

2005. R. Keeney, R. Gregory. Operations Research 53, pp1-11.

Creating policy alternatives using stakeholder values.

1994. R. Gregory & R. Keeney. Management Science 40, pp 1035-1048.

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