Building practical skills for real-world decision-making
The NIFAM project recently concluded a five-day training workshop on Decision Analysis, held from 7–11 April 2026 in Vietnam. The workshop was organised in collaboration with the Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) and the University of Bonn.
A total of 26 researchers and academics from partner institutions came together to develop practical skills in decision analysis and decision modelling using R. The aim was to support participants in building quantitative models that can help inform real-world decisions.
The training was led by NIFAM partners, together with Dr. Hoa Doa and Dr. Cory Whitney.
Workshop Highlights
The programme combined conceptual learning with hands-on practice. Key sessions included:
- Introduction to decision analysis and its applications
- Practical R programming sessions for decision modelling
- A collaborative team-based model-building exercise
- Open discussions and exchange of ideas among participants
Learning by Doing
A major highlight of the workshop was the group modelling exercise. Participants worked in teams to build a decision model from start to finish. Each group defined a real decision problem, identified possible options and key assumptions, considered uncertainty and how to represent it and developed a working model using R.
For many participants, this was their first experience using R. Despite this, the teams were able to successfully build functioning models, an outcome that showed both strong engagement and rapid learning.
Feedback from participants was very positive. Many highlighted the practical, hands-on approach as especially valuable. Learning by building a model from scratch helped make the concepts clearer and more relevant to their own work.
The workshop demonstrated the importance of combining theory, tools, and collaboration in building decision-making capacity. Strengthening these skills supports better analysis and more informed decisions across different contexts.
