Power to the People: Participatory Modeling for Societal Resilience

When communities face their most pressing challenges—managing disaster risk, adapting to climate change, navigating energy transitions—solutions rarely emerge from the top down. These problems are inherently messy: stakeholders clash over competing values, frame reality differently, and bring distinct expertise to the table. Yet this complexity, when engaged thoughtfully, becomes a source of strength.

Participatory modeling channels this strength by embedding stakeholders in the construction of formal problem representations. This transforms modeling from a unidirectional knowledge transfer into a process of collaborative knowledge co-production, enabling diverse perspectives to strengthen systems understanding and build collective agency.

Agent-based modeling (ABM) is particularly well-suited to this purpose. Its capacity to represent heterogeneous actors, capture emergent dynamics, and make assumptions explicit positions it as a powerful boundary object across disciplines and communities. 

This workshop convenes scholars and practitioners working at the intersection of participatory modeling, agent-based modeling, and stakeholder engagement. We aim to critically examine how these approaches address social complexity, share empirical findings, and develop more rigorous frameworks for participatory processes that genuinely redistribute agency in decision-making.

Who can participate?

If you are an expert in participatory methods but have no clue about how modeling works, this can be an interesting introduction to participatory modelling. If you are well versed in modeling and agent-based simulations but you have never used participatory methods, this is a nice opportunity to learn about the various ways in which different stakeholders can engage with your models. 

Plenary lectures will be livestreamed, so you can attend those lectures online.

There are no participation fees.

Call for Abstracts

We invite 500-word abstracts (including title and references) addressing participatory modeling, agent-based modeling, and collaborative approaches to socially complex environmental and policy challenges. Please send your abstract to: f.giardini rug.nl by June 9, 2026.

Topics include:

• Agent-based models as tools for stakeholder engagement and dialogue
• Participatory modeling in climate adaptation, disaster preparedness, or energy transitions
• Social complexity and heterogeneity in modeling practice
• Boundary objects and interdisciplinary knowledge integration
• Power, equity, and representation in participatory processes
• Critical assessments of participatory approaches: limitations and challenges