Contexte général La Côte d'Ivoire est un pays de l’Afrique de l’Ouest qui a décidé, depuis 2001, d'étendre la couverture des prestations de santé à toute sa population. En effet, cette réforme du système de santé avait pour but de fournir, à chaque ivoirien, une couverture médicale et pharmaceutique. Toutefois, la mise en œuvre de cette réforme était difficile car, contrairement aux pays développés, les pays en développement ont un secteur « informel » échappant à la législation du travail et occupant une place importante. En conséquence, il a été recommandé qu’il y ait deux caisses d'assurance santé, une pour le secteur formel (fonctionnaires) et l'autre pour le secteur informel. Ces caisses auraient légitimité en ce qui a trait aux décisions de remboursement de médicaments. D’ores-et-déjà, il existe une mutuelle de santé appelée la Mutuelle Générale des Fonctionnaires et Agents de l'État de Côte d'Ivoire (MUGEFCI), chargée de couvrir les frais médicaux et pharmaceutiques des fonctionnaires et agents de l’Etat. Celle-ci connaît, depuis quelques années, des contraintes budgétaires. De plus, le processus actuel de remboursement des médicaments, dans cette organisation, ne prend pas en considération les valeurs implicites liées aux critères d'inscription au formulaire. Pour toutes ces raisons, la MUGEFCI souhaite se doter d’une nouvelle liste de médicaments remboursables, qui comprendrait des médicaments sécuritaires avec un impact majeur sur la santé (service médical rendu), à un coût raisonnable. Dans le cadre de cette recherche, nous avons développé une méthode de sélection des médicaments pour des fins de remboursement, dans un contexte de pays à faibles revenus. Cette approche a ensuite été appliquée dans le cadre de l’élaboration d’une nouvelle liste de médicaments remboursables pour la MUGEFCI. Méthode La méthode de sélection des médicaments remboursables, développée dans le cadre de cette recherche, est basée sur l'Analyse de Décision Multicritère (ADM). Elle s’articule autour de quatre étapes: (1) l'identification et la pondération des critères pertinents d'inscription des médicaments au formulaire (combinant revue de la littérature et recherche qualitative, suivies par la réalisation d’une expérience de choix discrets); (2) la détermination d'un ensemble de traitements qui sont éligibles à un remboursement prioritaire; (3) l’attribution de scores aux traitements selon leurs performances sur les niveaux de variation de chaque critère, et (4) le classement des traitements par ordre de priorité de remboursement (classement des traitements selon un score global, obtenu après avoir additionné les scores pondérés des traitements). Après avoir défini la liste des médicaments remboursables en priorité, une analyse d’impact budgétaire a été réalisée. Celle-ci a été effectuée afin de déterminer le coût par patient lié à l'utilisation des médicaments figurant sur la liste, selon la perspective de la MUGEFCI. L’horizon temporel était de 1 an et l'analyse portait sur tous les traitements admissibles à un remboursement prioritaire par la MUGEFCI. En ce qui concerne la population cible, elle était composée de personnes assurées par la MUGEFCI et ayant un diagnostic positif de maladie prioritaire en 2008. Les coûts considérés incluaient ceux des consultations médicales, des tests de laboratoire et des médicaments. Le coût par patient, résultant de l'utilisation des médicaments figurant sur la liste, a ensuite été comparé à la part des dépenses par habitant (per capita) allouée à la santé en Côte d’Ivoire. Cette comparaison a été effectuée pour déterminer un seuil en deçà duquel la nouvelle liste des médicaments remboursables en priorité était abordable pour la MUGEFCI. Résultats Selon les résultats de l’expérience de choix discrets, réalisée auprès de professionnels de la santé en Côte d'Ivoire, le rapport coût-efficacité et la sévérité de la maladie sont les critères les plus importants pour le remboursement prioritaire des médicaments. Cela se traduit par une préférence générale pour les antipaludiques, les traitements pour l'asthme et les antibiotiques indiqués pour les infections urinaires. En outre, les résultats de l’analyse d’impact budgétaire suggèrent que le coût par patient lié à l'utilisation des médicaments figurant sur la liste varierait entre 40 et 160 dollars américains. Etant donné que la part des dépenses par habitant allouées à la santé en Côte d’Ivoire est de 66 dollars américains, l’on pourrait conclure que la nouvelle liste de médicaments remboursables serait abordable lorsque l'impact économique réel de l’utilisation des médicaments par patient est en deçà de ces 66 dollars américains. Au delà de ce seuil, la MUGEFCI devra sélectionner les médicaments remboursables en fonction de leur rang ainsi que le coût par patient associé à l’utilisation des médicaments. Plus précisément, cette sélection commencera à partir des traitements dans le haut de la liste de médicaments prioritaires et prendra fin lorsque les 66 dollars américains seront épuisés. Conclusion Cette étude fait la démonstration de ce qu’il est possible d'utiliser l’analyse de décision multicritère pour développer un formulaire pour les pays à faibles revenus, la Côte d’Ivoire en l’occurrence. L'application de cette méthode est un pas en avant vers la transparence dans l'élaboration des politiques de santé dans les pays en développement. / Background Côte d'Ivoire is a West African country that decided, since 2001, to expand its health coverage benefit packages to the entire population. Indeed, this health care system reform was aimed at providing each Ivorian with medical and pharmaceutical coverage. However, the implementation of this reform was challenging since, unlike developed countries, developing countries have an « informal » sector escaping the labour law and occupying an important place. As a result, it was recommended to create two health insurance funds, one for the formal sector (government officials) and the other for the informal sector. These funds would have legitimacy in regard to drug reimbursement decision-making. There is, already, a health insurance fund called the Mutuelle Générale des Fonctionnaires et Agents de l’État de Côte d’Ivoire (MUGEFCI), responsible for covering medical and pharmaceutical expenses of government officials and agents. The latter is experiencing budgetary constraints. Moreover, the current process of drug reimbursement, in this organization, does not take into account the implicit values associated to formulary listing criteria. For all these reasons, the MUGEFCI aims at developing a new list of reimbursable drugs, which would include safe drugs with a major impact on health (high medical service), at reasonable costs. In this research, we have developed a formulary listing framework for low-income countries. This framework was then applied to the development of a new formulary for the MUGEFCI. Methods The formulary listing framework, based on Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), was composed of four steps: (1) the identification and weighting of relevant formulary listing criteria (combining both literature review and qualitative research approaches, followed by the conduct of a discrete choice experiment); (2) the determination of priority diagnostic/treatments to be assessed (determination of a set of treatments that are eligible for priority reimbursement); (3) the treatments scoring (assignment of numerical values to the treatments’ performance on the variation levels of each criterion), and (4) the treatments ranking by priority order of reimbursement (ranking of treatments according to an overall value, obtained after summing up the weighted treatment scores). After having defined the priority list of reimbursable drugs, we conducted a budget impact analysis (BIA). The latter was carried out to determine the costs per patient resulting from the use of drugs included on the new formulary, according to the perspective of the MUGEFCI. The temporal framework was 1 year and the analysis included all the treatments eligible for a priority reimbursement by the MUGEFCI. As for the target population, it was composed of people (MUGEFCI enrolees) with a positive diagnostic of priority diseases in 2008. The costs considered in this BIA included those of medical consultations, laboratory tests and medications. The cost per patient, resulting from the use of drugs on the formulary, was then compared to the per capita health care spending in Côte d'Ivoire. This comparison was made to assess the extent to which the new priority list of reimbursable drugs was affordable for the MUGEFCI. Results According to the results of the discrete choice experiment, carried out among health professionals in Côte d’Ivoire, cost-effectiveness and severity of diseases are the most significant criteria for priority reimbursement of drugs. This translates into a general preference for antimalarial, treatments for asthma and antibiotics for urinary infection. Moreover, the results of the BIA suggest that the cost per patient, resulting from the use of drugs on the formulary, would vary between 40 and 160 US dollars. Since the per capita health care spending in Côte d'Ivoire is 66 US dollars, one could conclude that the new priority list of reimbursable drugs will be affordable when the real economic impact per patient of drugs is under 66 US dollars. Beyond this threshold, the MUGEFCI will have to select the reimbursable drugs according to their rank in the priority list and their respective economic impact per patient (cost per patient). Particularly, this selection will start from the treatment on the top of the list and will end when the 66 US dollars are exhausted. Conclusion This study demonstrates that it is possible to use multi-criteria decision analysis to develop a formulary for low-income countries, Côte d'Ivoire for instance. The application of this method is a step towards transparency in the formulation of health policies in developing countries.

Le bâtiment est considéré comme étant le premier secteur consommateur d’énergie dans le monde. Dans la région méditerranéenne, face à la crise économique et aux engagements pris pour limiter les effets produisant le réchauffement climatique, il est devenu impératif de réduire la consommation énergétique des bâtiments que ce soit par la conception des bâtiments neufs ou par la réhabilitation du parc existant. Dans ce cadre-là, chercher des solutions techniques optimales en tenant compte des critères économiques, environnementaux et sociétaux est un problème très complexe du fait du nombre élevé de paramètres à prendre en compte. Pour remédier à ce problème, un état de l’art des méthodes d’optimisation multicritère a été réalisé. Nous avons constaté que plusieurs contraintes existent lors de l’utilisation de ces méthodes telles qu’un temps de calcul élevé et la non-maîtrise de la convergence des résultats vers des optimums globaux recherchés. L’objectif de notre travail est de proposer une nouvelle méthode qui permette de contourner ces difficultés. Cette méthode est basée, dans un premier temps, sur le développement des modèles polynomiaux pour la prédiction des besoins de chauffage, de refroidissement, d’énergie finale et du confort thermique d’été à l’aide du logiciel TRNSYS. Pour établir ces modèles, nous avons utilisé la méthode des plans d’expériences et des simulations thermiques dynamiques. À partir de ces modèles, une analyse de sensibilité a été entamée afin d’identifier les paramètres les plus influents sur les besoins énergétiques et le confort thermique d’été. Une base de données est utilisée associant chaque paramètre à son coût et à son impact environnemental sur son cycle de vie. Ensuite, une étude paramétrique complète a été réalisée en utilisant les fonctions polynomiales dans le but de déterminer un ensemble de solutions optimales à l’aide de l’approche du Front de Pareto. Cette nouvelle méthode a été appliquée dans le but de concevoir des bâtiments neufs à haute efficacité énergétique à des coûts maîtrisés pour les six zones climatiques du Maroc. La validation des modèles polynomiaux réalisée grâce à une comparaison avec des simulations aléatoires a donné des résultats très satisfaisants. Avec un modèle polynomial de second degré, l’erreur maximale sur les besoins énergétiques et le confort thermique adaptatif d’été ne dépasse pas 2 kWh/m².an et 9% respectivement dans la plupart des cas. Les modèles développés ont ensuite été utilisés pour l’aide à la décision multicritères. Les résultats obtenus ont montré que des bâtiments à très faibles besoins énergétiques peuvent être construits à un coût raisonnable, et qu’un effort doit être porté sur des solutions plus performantes pour le rafraîchissement en été. Enfin, nous avons mis en œuvre la méthode que nous avons développée dans le cadre de la réhabilitation d’un bâtiment existant à La Rochelle. Les critères environnementaux ont aussi été intégrés à la recherche de solutions optimales. La solution retenue selon 14 critères correspond à un ensemble de solutions techniques permettant d’obtenir des besoins de chauffage de l’ordre de 15 kWh/m².an avec un compromis réalisé entre l’efficacité énergétique, le confort des occupants, les impacts environnementaux et la maîtrise du coût de la réhabilitation. La méthode développée dans le cadre de ce travail a montré un fort potentiel d’utilisation pour l’aide à la décision multicritère lors de la conception des bâtiments neufs ou en réhabilitation. Elle permet d’effectuer très rapidement une optimisation opérationnelle de l’enveloppe pour contribuer à des bâtiments durables, confortables, à coût maîtrisé et à basse consommation énergétique. / The building sector is the largest consumer of energy in the world. In Mediterranean region, facing the economic crisis and commitments for climate change, the reduction of energy consumption for both new and existing buildings is more necessary. Against this background, seeking optimal technical solutions taking into account the economic, environmental and societal criteria is a very complex problem due to the high number of parameters to consider. In order to solve this problem, a state of the art of multi-criteria optimization method has been achieved. We found that many constraints exist when using these methods such as high time calculation and no absolute assurance to find the global optimum. Thus, the main objective of the present work is to propose a new method that allows overcome these difficulties. This method is based on the development of polynomial models for the prediction of heating energy needs, cooling energy needs, final energy needs and summer thermal comfort. To establish these models, we used the design of experiments method and dynamic thermal simulations using TRNSYS software. From these models, a sensitivity analysis has been achieved in order to identify the leading parameters on energy requirements and thermal comfort in summer. A database associating each parameter for its cost and environmental impact on its lifetime was generated from CYPE software and INIES database. Then, a detailed parametric study was performed using polynomial functions for determining a set of optimal solutions using the Pareto front approach. This new method was applied to design new buildings with high energy efficiency at controlled costs for the six Moroccan climate zones. The validation of polynomial models through a comparison with random simulations gave very satisfactory results. With a polynomial model of the second order, the maximum error on the energy needs and the adaptive thermal comfort did not exceed 2 kWh/m².an and 9% respectively. The developed models were used for multiple-criteria decision analysis. The results showed that buildings with very low energy needs can be built with a reasonable cost. On the other hand an effort should be focused on more efficient solutions for adaptive thermal comfort in summer especially for Marrakech and Errachidia. Finally, we also implemented our method to a project of energy rehabilitation of an existing building located in La Rochelle (France). Environmental criteria were also taken into account in the optimization process. The selected technical solutions procured approximately 15 kWh/m².year of heating energy needs. The developed multicriteria decision method showed a great potential for both designing new and existing buildings with high energy efficiency. It allows a very fast operational optimization of sustainable buildings at reasonable cost and low energy consumption.

Submitted by Caroline Falcao (caroline.rfalcao@ufpe.br) on 2017-06-01T18:14:47Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Fernando TESE.pdf: 6232408 bytes, checksum: 2758b5fef89a3422ca1f59c9255a8e14 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:14:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Fernando TESE.pdf: 6232408 bytes, checksum: 2758b5fef89a3422ca1f59c9255a8e14 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-05-21 / A complexidade de um processo licitatório, o princípio da isonomia e a tentativa de obter a proposta mais vantajosa têm induzido a administração pública a adotar uma abordagem de seleção de fornecedores, onde o preço é o único aspecto considerado. Com o objetivo de apoiar este processo, esta tese propõe um modelo de seleção de fornecedores, baseado na legislação brasileira de licitação, que contempla uma etapa de negociação sobre múltiplos aspectos. O modelo estrutura o processo de compras de bens na administração pública em um fluxo de atividades: (i) captação das propostas; (ii) etapa de negociação; e (iii) homologação e adjudicação das propostas. A etapa de negociação consiste de um modelo de apoio à negociação multibilateral e multiaspecto, cuja estratégia adotada garanta ganhos mútuos máximos para as partes envolvidas. O modelo proposto é ilustrado por meio de um processo licitatório já finalizado. Através desta ilustração é possível verificar que o modelo agrega maior dinâmica a lei de licitações, pois as ofertas dos fornecedores são intervalos de valores em diferentes aspectos ao invés de uma oferta fixa e única apenas no aspecto preço. Verificou-se também que a proposta pode ser utilizada para apoiar processos de seleção de fornecedores de empresas do setor privado. / The complexity of bidding process, the equality principle and the attempt to obtain the most advantageous bid have led the government to adopt a selection supplier approach, in which the price is the only issue considered. In order to support this process, this thesis proposes a supplier selection model based on the Brazilian bidding law, which includes a negotiation stage on multiple issues. The model organizes the public bidding process in a flow of activities: (i) bids reception; (ii) negotiation stage; and (iii) approval and award of bids. The negotiation stage is developed as a model to support multi-bilateral and multi-issue negotiations, whose adopted strategy ensures joint maximum gains for the parties involved. The proposed model is illustrated through its application for a bidding process already concluded. This illustration showed that the model aggregates more dynamic to the bidding law since the suppliers bids are ranges of values in different issues instead of a single bid in the price issue only. It was verified that the proposal can be used to support suppliers selection processes in private sector companies.

Planning is of vital importance for the development urban areas to facilitate sustainable economic growth and social functions. The traditional, manual ways of planning that depend on biophysical data and use a hierarchical approach are no longer appropriate for site choice since information is rapidly updated today. Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) has been used for about two decades with geographic information systems (GIS) to analyze spatial problems. GIS-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) provides tools for assessing the inherent tradeoffs and mechanisms for incorporating and documenting the value judgments of interest groups and decision makers and is thus a more reasonable and scientific way for site selection to development. Guangzhou, the study area of this paper, is one of the fastest developing and largest cities located in Southern China. This research used the GIS-based MCDA approaches to find the appropriate sites for residential areas in Guangzhou. Satellite images, DEM and several thematic maps of Guangzhou were used in this research. Using different methods and technologies, the data were used to create constraint and factor maps for multi-criteria analysis. After building the MCA model, the weights for multi-criteria analysis were obtained through an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) by comparing the importance of every two factors. Finally, a suitability map for housing development was generated. The result indicates that with the help of GIS and remote sensing technologies, the process of site selection and urban planning can be done in a more effective and scientific way. The limitation and future perspective of GIS based MCDA methods are discussed.

L'évaluation des bénéfices et des risques des médicaments joue un rôle central dans la protection de la santé publique. Cependant, et de l’avis général, il apparaît que cette évaluation nécessite d’être revisitée. En 2010, aucun examen n’avait encore été effectué pour déterminer si les méthodes disponibles pouvaient être appliquées à l’évaluation de la balance bénéfice-risque des médicaments dans le cadre réglementaire, et si oui à quel point elles seraient applicable. L’objectif de cette thèse a donc été d’identifier la ou les méthodes pouvant être théoriquement utilisées pour ce type d’évaluation, puis de les confronter à des cas concrets afin d’en déterminer leur applicabilité. Les résultats de l’évaluation des méthodes ont montrés que les méthodes les plus appropriées sont la méthode d’aide à la décision multicritère (MCDA) ainsi que ses variantes. Les résultats de l'application pratique de la méthode MCDA ont indiqué que cette méthode peut être utilisé dans les scénarios communs d'enregistrement en Europe. Cependant il convient de noter que cette méthode ne fournit ni une recette « prête à l'emploi » pour exécuter cette évaluation ni une réponse directe. / The benefit-risk evaluation of new medicines plays a central role in safeguarding public health. Nevertheless, it seems that the benefit-risk evaluation calls for further improvement. In 2010, no review had been performed of how available benefit-risk assessment methods could be applied for a regulatory benefit-risk assessment and how feasible that would be when facing real-life cases. The objective of this thesis has thus been to identify method(s) that could be theoretically used for such an assessment, and then to confront it/them to real-life cases, in order to determine their applicability. The results of the methods evaluation showed that the most suitable methods for a regulatory benefit-risk assessment of medicinal products are the MCDA method and the MCDA based methods. The results of the practical application of the MCDA indicated that the method could be used for medicinal products registered through a common registration scenario in Europe. However it should be noted that this method provides neither a “ready-made” recipe to perform an assessment nor a direct answer.

Syfte: Miljömedvetet och prisvärt byggande har länge varit två uttryck som använts ibyggbranschen. Betong har använts och är väl beprövat. Trä och framförallt KL-trä ärdäremot ett material som växt fram det senaste decenniet. Frågan är, när är det bäst attbygga med de olika materialen och vad är materialens respektive klimatavtryck? Målet med denna rapport är att jämföra två bjälklagssystem, ett i KL-trä och ett i betong, utifrån ett sammanvägt kostnads-, dimensions- och miljöperspektiv och hur de förhåller sig mellan spännvidderna fyra, sex och åtta meter. ▪ Hur stor är den procentuella kostnadsskillnaden mellan dessa bjälklagssystem? ▪ Hur stor är den procentuella skillnaden i koldioxidutsläpp under produktionen avdessa bjälklagssystem ▪ Hur stor är den procentuella dimensionsskillnaden mellan dessa bjälklagssystem? ▪ Vilket bjälklagssystem är det bästa valet utifrån en multikriterieanalys? Metod: Studien består av flera experiment för att få ut empiri till en kvotmätning.Denna metod användes för att få fram primärdata till arbetet.Sekundärdata samlades in via dokumentstudier av lagar och krav för byggnation inombrand, ljud och dimensionering. Resultat: Studien visar resultaten av en jämförelse mellan bjälklagssystem med olikamaterial och spännvidder. En multikriterieanalys används för att rangordna resultatenför att visa det mest fördelaktiga alternativet. Konsekvenser: Vid användning av KL-trä bör dimensionering tas i beaktande dådimensionerna blir relativt stora jämfört med betong. Kostnaden av materialen skiljersig markant. Detta speglar dock inte totalkostnad då produktion, leveranser, montering,etcetera ej är medräknat. Att använda en multikriterieanalys vid jämförelser ger entydlig bild på fördelaktigt alternativ samt hur stor skillnad det är mellan alternativen. Begränsningar: Då det endast är en del i totalkostnaden som berörs speglar interesultatet rättvis kostnadsbild och kan därför inte användas som referenspunkt. Resultatfungerar endast som ett hjälpmedel vid delberäkning av totalkostnad. Nyckelord: Betong, KL-trä, Plattbärlag, Plattbjälklag, Kassettbjälklag,Multikriterieanalys, Dimensionering, Kostnad, Koldioxidutsläpp / Purpose: Environmental and affordable construction has long been two terms used in theconstruction industry. Concrete has been used and is well proven. Wood and especiallyCLT wood, on the other hand, is a material that has emerged in the last decade. The questionis, when is it best to build with the different materials and what are their respective climatefootprints? The aim of this report is to compare two structural floor systems, one in CLT wood and onein concrete, based on a balanced cost, dimension and environmental perspective and howthey relate between the spans of four, six and eight meters. ▪ What is the percentage cost difference between these structural floor systems? ▪ What is the percentage difference in carbon dioxide emissions during theproduction of these structural floor systems? ▪ What is the percentage dimensional difference between these structural floorsystems? ▪ Which structural floor system is the best choice based on a multi-criteria decisionanalysis? Method: The study consists of several experiments to obtain empirical data for a quotameasurement. This method was used to obtain primary data for the work. To obtain secondary data consisting of standards, calculation models and requirements, adocument study was used. Secondary data were collected via document studies of laws and requirements forconstruction in fire, acoustics and dimensioning. Findings: The study shows the results of a comparison between structural floor systemswith different materials and spans. A multi-criteria decision analysis is used to rank theresults to show the most advantageous alternative. Implications: When using CLT-wood, dimensioning should be taken into account as thedimensions will be relatively large compared to concrete. The cost of the materials differsmarkedly. However, this does not reflect the total cost as production, deliveries, assembly,etcetera are not included. Using a multi-criteria decision analysis in comparisons gives aclear picture of a favorable alternative and how large a difference there is between thealternatives. Limitations: As only a part of the total cost is affected, the result does not reflect a faircost picture and can therefore not be used as a reference point. The results only serve as anaid in the partial calculation of total cost. Keywords: Concrete, CLT-wood, Prefabricated Concrete Slab Joist, CLT Flat Joist,Rib Elements, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, Cost, Carbon Dioxide Emissions

The understanding that humans are bounded in their rationality has been proven to manifest in complex decision making as a result of a limit in the amount of information available, the cognitive limitations of the mind and the amount of time available in which to make a decision. Because of this, humans have been known to appeal to heuristics and the rules of thumb (termed 'satisficing‘) when making decisions, resulting in biased probability judgments and not maximizing expected utility. Corporate application of bounded rationality is still very limited. This study builds on and advances the study and application of bounded rationality in corporate environments, using climate change response as a real-life situation, and in a circular fashion help explain some of the debates and paradoxes that agitate researchers from the climate change community. Using a mixed methods comparative case study of two organisations‘ responses to climate change, the study theorises that competitive market forces and the ability of organisations to learn from other organisations limits the levels of 'satisficing‘ in strategic decision making. Instead, the limited amount of information and the fear of the unknown cause organizations to approach the subject cautiously. A tactical interpretive climate change response framework emerges. / Business Management / D.B.L.

Problems in the public policy decision-making environments are typically complex and continuously evolve. In a resource-constrained environment, several alternatives, criteria, and conflicting objectives must be considered. As a result, solutions to these types of problems cannot be modelled solely using single-criteria techniques. It has been observed that most techniques used to shape energy policy and planning either produce sub-optimal solutions or use strong assumptions about the preferences of decision-maker(s). This difficulty creates a compelling need to develop novel techniques that can handle several alternatives, multiple criteria and conflicting objectives to support public sector decision-making processes. First, the study presents a novel scenario-based multi-objective optimisation framework based on the augmented Chebychev goal programming (GP) technique linked to a value function for analysing a decision environment underlying energy choice among low-income households in isolated rural areas and informal urban settlements in South Africa. The framework developed includes a multi-objective optimisation technique that produced an approximation of a Pareto front linked to an a priori aggregation function and a value function to select the best alternatives. Second, the study used this model to demonstrate the benefits of applying the framework to a previously unknown subject in public policy: a dynamic multi-technology decision problem under uncertainty involving multiple stakeholders and conflicting objectives. The results obtained suggest that while it is cost-optimal to pursue electrification in conjunction with other short-term augmentation solutions to meet South Africa's universal electrification target, sustainable energy access rates among low-income households can be achieved by increasing the share of clean energy generation technologies in the energy mix. This study, therefore, challenges the South African government's position on pro-poor energy policies and an emphasis on grid-based electrification to increase energy access. Instead, the study calls for a portfolio-based intervention. The study advances interventions based on micro-grid electrification made up of solar photovoltaics (PV), solar with storage, combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) and wind technologies combined with either bioethanol fuel or liquid petroleum gas (LPG). The study has demonstrated that the framework developed can benefit public sector decision-makers in providing a balanced regime of technical, financial, social, environmental, public health, political and economic aspects in the decision-making process for planning energy supply interventions for low-income households. The framework can be adapted to a wide range of energy access combinatorial problems and in countries grappling with similar energy access challenges.

Low Impact Development (LID) is a sustainable stormwater management approach that aims to control runoff close to its source, mimicking the natural hydrological processes such as infiltration and storage. It is being adopted by many cities, where its implementation is rapidly evolving. The LID practices are small-scale measures; therefore, they need to be widely implemented to impact significantly. The selection of LIDs depends on the land use and characteristics of the area of interest. This study focuses on residential LIDs. First, a systematic and bibliometric literature review is conducted on the residential LIDs articles published up to the year 2020; a total of 94 papers were found in the Web of Science. This review resulted that LID implementation in residential areas still needs to be investigated. To assist the City, engineers, and policy-makers in implementing the suitable LIDs for detached houses, a multi-criteria decision analysis framework incorporating a hydrological model is developed in this study. The commonly used LIDs were identified, which are rain gardens, permeable pavement, rain barrels, soakaways. Seven criteria were selected – runoff depth reduction rate, peak runoff reduction rate, installation cost, maintenance cost, retrofit cost, life cycle, and aesthetical view. For the properties of the single-detached house and LIDs, the standards of Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) were followed. The proposed decision-making framework also was applied to a case study. This framework is still in the preliminary stage, thus holds the potential to convert into a tool that will be handy enough for the homeowners and consume less time. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

This master’s thesis determines trail suitability in the context of environmental area sensitivity, closely focusing on a proposed Bästeträsk National Park, Gotland, Sweden. The current relative low usage of the area is expected to significantly increase its tourism flow once the proposed national park is established, as the demand for nature-based tourism and recreation is growing. However, due to its pristine landscapes, myriad endemic and red-listed species, and rare geomorphological phenomena, there is a need to closely review the destination’s environmental sensitivity and potential recreational adverse impacts on the area’s ecosystem services. Consequently, the research reviews Volunteered Geographic Data within the studied area and employs Geographic Information Systems-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to determine environmental trail suitability. The research identified that more than half of the studied area exhibits substantial environmental sensitivity. Additionally, it highlights that multiple used and established trails intersect considerably sensitive areas, which must be considered for future tourism planning to attain sustainable destination development. Moreover, the study furthers on the requisite to recognise nature-based activities beyond the means of low impact due to their increasing popularity and anthropogenic impacts.