"Supporting the Strategic Objectives of Participative Water Resources Management; an Evaluation of the Performance of Four ICT Tools;" by Swinford, A., McIntosh, B., Jeffrey, P. School of Water Sciences, Cranfield University. AL. Several types of purpose designed ICT tool are available, but there is a distinct lack of
empirical research into their design and effectiveness. Strategic objectives performance take the central role
in the work reported here. Six strategic objectives of the use of ICT tools were identified; learning, trust in
the institution (the developers of the tool), trust in the computer tool (and the information contained within),
trust in the decisions made (during a post interaction scenario), motivation and inclusion. A number of preexisting
software platforms, each specifically designed to either educate or support decision making in the
area of water management, were selected and formally evaluated under controlled conditions with small
groups of evaluators. Results from the evaluation sessions were analysed using statistical analysis
techniques. The discussion focus is primarily on the performance of each evaluated tool with respect to
achieving the strategic objectives.