Designing a Policy Support System to Foster Rationality in Water Resource Management

Water resource management, especially in critical regions, is one of the most pressing issues today in the context of climate change. Therefore, designing systems that can implement a rational approach to managing these resources, particularly in policymaking, can greatly benefit this field. The main objective of this study is to design a policy support system (PSS) aimed at enhancing rationality in water resource management. The study employs a qualitative content analysis method for designing this system. Data were collected through interviews, and the validity was confirmed using the CVR index, while reliability was verified using Cohen's kappa coefficient. The participants in this study were water management experts in Iran. Using the snowball sampling method, 17 participants were selected at the point of theoretical saturation. The analysis of the qualitative data identified 19 main components, forming the core elements of the proposed model. These components include data collection and analysis, the use of geographic information systems (GIS), modeling and simulation, stakeholder analysis, decision support tools (DSS), legal and policy frameworks, performance evaluation and monitoring, education and capacity building, ensuring public participation and transparency, technology transfer and innovation utilization, attention to climate change, inter-organizational alignment, continuous risk assessment and management, and integration with sustainable development. These components can be applied in implementing a PSS to enhance rationality in water management.