The Four Stages

CRAFT has four primary components:

• Specifying Objectives: It is important to prioritize management objectives in order to clarify possible conflicts and competing values.  CRAFT can help organize management and stakeholder values using clear and effective techniques and exercises.

• Designing Alternatives:  An ecosystem is complex, therefore different alternatives can have varying effects. CRAFT helps design alternatives based on how well they might satisfy objectives.

• Modeling Effects: CRAFT uses the tools of decision analysis to link objectives, actions, and consequences.  The belief networks can model complex environmental dynamics and display the consequences and uncertainties of alternative actions.

• Synthesis: The Synthesis stage is designed to pull together the information generated in previous steps and enhance understanding of the interplay among uncertainty outcomes, as well as personal values and attitudes.