Policy Support Systems


Supporting environment and development decision-making around the world since 2003

On these pages you will find a range of free, open access software and hardware tools for conservation planning, environmental risk assessment and environmental monitoring. We believe that policy for sustainable development can be be better (more equitable and more effective) when based on the available scientific evidence.  This is why we have focused on bridging the gap from scientific data and knowledge to policy and management decision-making by building and deploying data-intensive, science-based  spatial policy support systems (PSS) which are accessed on these pages.  These PSS deliver knowledge in a more actionable form.

policysupport.org is home to a range of widely used, open-access sophisticated web-based policy support systems developed and applied, since 2003, collaboratively by Professor Mark Mulligan King's College London and Dr. Sophia Burke, AmbioTEK CIC, with a range of other partners as specified for each system.  The systems are based on a common framework for developing web based policy support systems and the SimTerra databases but are varied in their focus and application.  Click the links for more information on and to access these systems. Take a look at and subscribe to our blog. Users and usage of these systems is described here.

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Users:

These maps show the distribution of users of these policy support systems over the last 12 months by city (excluding London) and by country (excluding UK).  The systems are widely used (>3500 organisations across >180 countries).  Users and usage of these systems is also described here.