Scenario workshops as a tool for participatory planning in a case of lake management

As a part of a scenario planning process, or other futures oriented study, workshops are often arranged. They are participatory events where the intention can be to produce future-related knowledge, strengthen the futures thinking of the participants, network and co-operate, enhance the mutual understanding and social learning, communicate research results, or resolve a conflict. This paper reviews the literature of scenario planning and future oriented workshops, and discusses the findings of five scenario workshops arranged for lake management stakeholders in Finland. The findings suggest that scenario workshops can act as empowering events that enhance the futures consciousness of the participants, network people interested in the same topic, and enhance social learning. Scenario workshops are also an effective tool for participatory planning, enabling collecting of the views of the future of a certain topic and creating scenarios, as well as a platform for research communication. However, it is unlikely that the in-depth perceptions of the participants would drastically change due to the new knowledge obtained at a single workshop. The previous assumptions and cognitive schemas dominate the thinking, and are converted into workshop outcomes. To change the conventional paradigms, a longer-term process and typically a competitive new paradigm is required.