Collaborative Systems Mapping of Sustainable Pathways Method (COSMOS Tool)

The guidebook provides a practical introduction and step-by-step instruction on how to design and apply the Collaborative Systems Mapping of Sustainable Pathways (CoSMoS) method.

The process has been developed to bridge the gap between science, policy, and society. Scientific knowledge about sustainability challenges was used to develop multiple global scenarios.

Stakeholder engagement in scenario planning is often misunderstood as a way to give expert input to scientists and provide feedback on research results. If scenario efforts are to be useful for policy development, they need to clearly indicate the sphere of control where stakeholders representing specific decision unit(s) can develop robust strategies.

The CoSMoS process allows them to develop strategic insights by building on selected representations of real-world structures and processes.

The guidebook provides a necessary basis to understand the process so that readers can use it, adapt it to specific circumstances, and successfully execute it.

The guidebook will:
1. explain the assumptions underlying the co-creation of scenarios and pathways,
2. compare and contrast them with other, similar tools, and
3. instruct how to adapt, design, and run new CoSMoS workshop sessions.

Authors and Contributors

IIASA Contacts