The focus on knowledge tends to underestimate the social dimensions of the decision making process and conceptualises them as being separate from the production of ‘objective’ knowledge. Because—as social science research has shown—knowledge is inseparable from values, power and vested interests, they can only be dealt with together.

This literature review constitutes the conceptual basis for the research project Decision Taking in Times of Uncertainty: Towards an Efficient Strategy to Manage Risk and Uncertainty in Climate Change Adaptation, funded by the Victorian Centre for Climate Change Adaptation Research (VCCCAR). The project seeks to improve our understanding of how complex decision-making processes deal with...