O.R. Applications STEEDS: A strategic transport–energy–environment decision support C. Brand a , M. Mattarelli b , D. Moon a , R. Wolfler Calvo b,c, * a AEA Technology plc, Oxfordshire, UK b European Commission, Joint Research Centre – Ispra, Italy c Universit e de Technologie de Troyes (UTT), Departement Genie des Syst  emes Industriels (GSI), Laboratoire d’Optimisation des Syst  emes Industriels (LOSI), 12, rue Marie Curie, BP 2060, 10010 Troyes Cedex, France Received 28 February 2001; accepted 2 May 2001 Abstract The paper describes the outcome of a European research project called STEEDS (Scenario-based framework to modelling Transport technology deployment: Energy–Environment Decision Support). It is an advanced Decision SupportSystem(DSS)abletoassistthepolicymakersinexploringtheinfluencesonmarkettake-upofdifferenttransport technologies under various exogenous scenarios and policy options and in assessing the energy and environmental im- pacts of these technology mixes. To implement the decision-making analysis a newly developed evaluation methodology has been integrated into the DSS. The method, called NAIADE, allows decision-makers to evaluate complex choices on the basis of enhanced access to information of different types. Ó 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Decision support system; Transport system; Environmental management; Multi-criteria decision aid 1. Introduction Resource constraints improved availability and quality of information and increasing public awareness are all contributing to severe difficulties in arriving at acceptable decisions in such areas of public policy as choice of energy technologies, environmental management and transport plan- ning. Not only are each of these areas subject to increasing complexity and uncertainty but they also overlap and interact. At every level of deci- sion-making there are differing effects on a variety of different stake-holders, to the extent that there are no simple decisions: every action has to be evaluated on the basis of multiple criteria and the outcomes have to be acceptable to a range of in- terest groups. In the STEEDS project 1 a com- puter-based Decision Support System (DSS) in the European Journal of Operational Research 139 (2002) 416–435 www.elsevier.com/locate/dsw * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: christian.brand@aeat.co.uk (C. Brand), david.moon@aeat.co.uk (D. Moon), roberto.wolfler@utt.fr (R. Wolfler Calvo). 1 The project is a shared-cost action partially funded by EC- DGXII. Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. 0377-2217/02/$ - see front matter Ó 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII:S0377-2217(01)00371-X