Adaptive Pathways Planning
Building resilience in water projects
Navigate future uncertainties and maximise your efficiency in water project planning. Adaptive Pathways Planning is a dynamic method of determining multiple solution pathways which can be prioritised and planned amid uncertainty.
Connect with water specialists from GHD and discover how you can apply our Adaptive Pathways Planning approach.
Adaptive Pathways Planning
Identify
Recognise the problem, determine drivers of change and uncertainty, and investigate the impact of future scenarios through big-picture thinking and decision-based planning.
Explore
Unlock innovation by generating solutions for uncertain obstacles while keeping options open in multiple pathways.
Prepare
Pinpoint key indicators that signal when current or future pathways become impractical – such as shifts in environment, political climate, funding, community needs or technological advancements – and be ready for a timely switch to alternative solutions.
Evaluate
Analyse and identify preferred pathways to resolve anticipated issues to better manage water systems and environmental expectations.
Implement
Drive efficiency through executing and monitoring living plans with continuous collaboration among stakeholders.
Why Adaptive Pathways Planning
Planning adaptive pathways is essential given the uncertain future and variable circumstances impacting the water sector. This approach involves understanding when existing approaches are no longer viable, creating strategies for various alternative scenarios and enabling adjustments as situations evolve. With our breadth of experience and broad network of specialists, our approach is tailored to understand uncertainties brought about by climate change, population growth, political and regulatory uncertainty, and funding mechanisms, and to navigate these effectively. By focusing on flexibility, robustness, and collaboration, we provide comprehensive structured planning and decision-making services across technical, business and government domains. With Adaptive Pathways Planning, you can identify different drivers of change, determine new opportunities, and effectively communicate with stakeholders.
Key benefits
- Proactively minimise risks of service failures for different future conditions
- Identify future issues and plan a range of pathways of response
- Optimise investment by avoiding redundancy and high transfer costs
- Help engage decision-makers by communicating complexity
- Explore a wider range of drivers that impact assets, systems and services
- Take the first steps towards adaptation to the long-term effects of climate change
- Allow the pursuit of new technologies while considering contingency pathways
- Improve the ability to integrate strategies and plans.
Strategy highlights
GHD’s Adaptive Pathways Planning approach is a part of our commitment to the Future of Water, to help you prepare and make informed decisions amid unprecedented change and complexity. Together, we will co-create new and innovative solutions. To do this, we are continuously developing our capabilities.
Through Adaptive Pathways Planning, you will be able to make optimal decisions – benefiting the community and enabling appropriate timing for investment in case of change.
A research-based, tested framework
Our Strategic Water Planning and Adaptive Pathways Planning approaches draw on core elements in foundational industry frameworks and apply GHD’s unique insights and approaches to give you the most useful solutions, when you need them.
Proactive decision-based planning
We understand the material risks, impact, thresholds and system dependencies that come with running an effective water system. Through this, we can help you proactively identify decision points and changes that need to be made for different scenarios.