Laura Schmitt Olabisi
Biographic Data
| ID | 1997280 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Laura Schmitt Olabisi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Laura Schmitt |
| FAMILY NAME | Olabisi |
| SIGNATURE | OLABISI L S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Michigan State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6557-9469 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 9 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Building trust for collaborative natural resource management through participatory modeling
A central requirement of collaborative natural resource management is establishing trust between the actors involved, both horizontally between resource users and vertically between users and regulators. Previous studies have demonstrated that participatory modeling—the act of building a shared representation of a system with resource users—can surface assumptions, facilitate communication, and promote social learning around the resource system, …
Coproducing water-energy-food Nexus actionable knowledge
The water-energy-food (WEF) Nexus is an integrative framework for addressing the multi-scalar interdependencies that challenge sustainability solutions across the water, energy, and food systems. However, challenges linked to scale and data availability often make WEF analyses more theoretical, limiting their ability to offer practical, implementable solutions in policy and decision contexts. This paper introduces Collaborative Learning Schools (…
Technology adoption and weed emergence dynamics
Ecological practices such as intercropping maize ( Zea mays ) with cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata L.) have been promoted to combat parasitic weeds like Striga ( Striga asiatica ). Intercropping has been promoted across Africa as a Striga control practice (SCP) and food security measure. Despite past efforts, millions of smallholder farmers (cultivating < 2 ha of maize) still struggle to implement SCPs. Social and ecological factors that prevent SCP i…
Navigating community engagement in participatory modeling of food systems
This paper describes the participatory modeling experiences of five discrete teams across the U.S. working to develop models of food systems to identify leverage points and policies to induce food system transformation. Collaboration between academic and community partners within these individual modeling processes enables teams to address food systems complexity, integrate scientific evidence and local knowledge into models, while improving a mo…
Defining success in community-university partnerships
The success of responsible research and innovation (RRI) work is as much about the process of partnership as it is about the products and outcomes. In this paper, we present lessons learned from the first three years of a participatory modeling (PM) research project based on RRI principles and focused on the transformation of the food system in Flint, Michigan through identification of leverage points. Participatory modeling is a type of communit…
Barriers and enablers of the use of digital technologies for sustainable agricultural development and food security
Digitization in agriculture is gaining momentum in developing countries. Digital technology aims to improve linkages along the agriculture value chain, thereby enabling farming communities and systems to recover from stresses and to absorb shocks to which farmers are exposed. However, there is the concern that digital technologies have not benefited the agricultural sector in a sustainable way. Stakeholders along the agriculture value chain need …
Water–food–energy–climate nexus and technology productivity
Dynamic pathways of barriers and opportunities for food security and climate adaptation in Southern Mali
Barriers to food security and climate adaptation operate in complex and dynamic ways but are often perceived as static impediments to be overcome. In this study, we apply systems thinking for the assessment of barriers in agricultural decision-making for food security and climate adaptation. Using a mixed-method approach of participatory simulation game design and causal loop diagrams, we explore the dynamic pathways through which barriers inhibi…
The energy crises revealed by Covid
Achieving sustainable future objectives under uncertain conditions
Adaptation Pathways have emerged as promising approaches for exploring sequences of actions to address challenges in uncertain conditions. This study elaborates on how pathway approaches operate in practice by applying a learning framework that identifies guiding propositions for successful adaptation pathways. The framework is used to analyze a transformative scenario planning case study from rural Mali. Findings confirm that adaptation pathways…
Try, try again
Participatory Modeling (PM) is becoming increasingly common in environmental planning and conservation, due in part to advances in cyberinfrastructure as well as to greater recognition of the importance of engaging a diverse array of stakeholders in decision making. We provide lessons learned, based on over 200 years of the authors’ cumulative and diverse experience, about PM processes. These include successful and, perhaps more importantly, not-…
Tools and methods in participatory modeling
Various tools and methods are used in participatory modelling, at different stages of the process and for different purposes. The diversity of tools and methods can create challenges for stakeholders and modelers when selecting the ones most appropriate for their projects. We offer a systematic overview, assessment, and categorization of methods to assist modelers and stakeholders with their choices and decisions. Most available literature provid…
Climate-induced migration
The US Dust Bowl of the 1930s (a prolong period of drought experienced in the United States accompanied by severe sand storms) is often described as an abnormal event. However, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of similar occurrences. Because of this, a growing number of scholars have begun to examine multiple facets of climate-induced migration from various disciplinary traditions. Specifically, scholars have called f…
Do participatory scenario exercises promote systems thinking and build consensus
Participatory scenario processes are associated with positive social learning outcomes, including consensus-building and shifts toward more systemic thinking. However, these claims have not been assessed quantitatively in diverse cultural and socio-ecological settings. We convened three stakeholder workshops around the future of agricultural development and rural livelihoods in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Malawi, using a participatory scenario gen…
Uncovering the Root Causes of Soil Erosion in the Philippines
Soil erosion is a serious threat to the sustainability of agricultural systems in the Philippines, as in many intensively cultivated regions of the developing world, yet the ultimate causes of erosion are complex and poorly understood. If erosion is to be addressed adequately by farmers and policymakers, the root causes must be dealt with. Most approaches to erosion in the literature and in practice hypothesize that erosion may be adequately cont…
Achieving sustainable future objectives under uncertain conditions
Adaptation Pathways have emerged as promising approaches for exploring sequences of actions to address challenges in uncertain conditions. This study elaborates on how pathway approaches operate in practice by applying a learning framework that identifies guiding propositions for successful adaptation pathways. The framework is used to analyze a transformative scenario planning case study from rural Mali. Findings confirm that adaptation pathways…
Dynamic pathways of barriers and opportunities for food security and climate adaptation in Southern Mali
Barriers to food security and climate adaptation operate in complex and dynamic ways but are often perceived as static impediments to be overcome. In this study, we apply systems thinking for the assessment of barriers in agricultural decision-making for food security and climate adaptation. Using a mixed-method approach of participatory simulation game design and causal loop diagrams, we explore the dynamic pathways through which barriers inhibi…
Climate-induced migration
The US Dust Bowl of the 1930s (a prolong period of drought experienced in the United States accompanied by severe sand storms) is often described as an abnormal event. However, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of similar occurrences. Because of this, a growing number of scholars have begun to examine multiple facets of climate-induced migration from various disciplinary traditions. Specifically, scholars have called f…
Navigating community engagement in participatory modeling of food systems
This paper describes the participatory modeling experiences of five discrete teams across the U.S. working to develop models of food systems to identify leverage points and policies to induce food system transformation. Collaboration between academic and community partners within these individual modeling processes enables teams to address food systems complexity, integrate scientific evidence and local knowledge into models, while improving a mo…
Uncovering the Root Causes of Soil Erosion in the Philippines
Soil erosion is a serious threat to the sustainability of agricultural systems in the Philippines, as in many intensively cultivated regions of the developing world, yet the ultimate causes of erosion are complex and poorly understood. If erosion is to be addressed adequately by farmers and policymakers, the root causes must be dealt with. Most approaches to erosion in the literature and in practice hypothesize that erosion may be adequately cont…
Do participatory scenario exercises promote systems thinking and build consensus
Participatory scenario processes are associated with positive social learning outcomes, including consensus-building and shifts toward more systemic thinking. However, these claims have not been assessed quantitatively in diverse cultural and socio-ecological settings. We convened three stakeholder workshops around the future of agricultural development and rural livelihoods in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Malawi, using a participatory scenario gen…
Climate-induced migration
The US Dust Bowl of the 1930s (a prolong period of drought experienced in the United States accompanied by severe sand storms) is often described as an abnormal event. However, climate change is likely to increase the frequency and impact of similar occurrences. Because of this, a growing number of scholars have begun to examine multiple facets of climate-induced migration from various disciplinary traditions. Specifically, scholars have called f…
Tools and methods in participatory modeling
Various tools and methods are used in participatory modelling, at different stages of the process and for different purposes. The diversity of tools and methods can create challenges for stakeholders and modelers when selecting the ones most appropriate for their projects. We offer a systematic overview, assessment, and categorization of methods to assist modelers and stakeholders with their choices and decisions. Most available literature provid…
Try, try again
Participatory Modeling (PM) is becoming increasingly common in environmental planning and conservation, due in part to advances in cyberinfrastructure as well as to greater recognition of the importance of engaging a diverse array of stakeholders in decision making. We provide lessons learned, based on over 200 years of the authors’ cumulative and diverse experience, about PM processes. These include successful and, perhaps more importantly, not-…
The energy crises revealed by Covid
Achieving sustainable future objectives under uncertain conditions
Adaptation Pathways have emerged as promising approaches for exploring sequences of actions to address challenges in uncertain conditions. This study elaborates on how pathway approaches operate in practice by applying a learning framework that identifies guiding propositions for successful adaptation pathways. The framework is used to analyze a transformative scenario planning case study from rural Mali. Findings confirm that adaptation pathways…
Barriers and enablers of the use of digital technologies for sustainable agricultural development and food security
Digitization in agriculture is gaining momentum in developing countries. Digital technology aims to improve linkages along the agriculture value chain, thereby enabling farming communities and systems to recover from stresses and to absorb shocks to which farmers are exposed. However, there is the concern that digital technologies have not benefited the agricultural sector in a sustainable way. Stakeholders along the agriculture value chain need …
Water–food–energy–climate nexus and technology productivity
Dynamic pathways of barriers and opportunities for food security and climate adaptation in Southern Mali
Barriers to food security and climate adaptation operate in complex and dynamic ways but are often perceived as static impediments to be overcome. In this study, we apply systems thinking for the assessment of barriers in agricultural decision-making for food security and climate adaptation. Using a mixed-method approach of participatory simulation game design and causal loop diagrams, we explore the dynamic pathways through which barriers inhibi…
Defining success in community-university partnerships
The success of responsible research and innovation (RRI) work is as much about the process of partnership as it is about the products and outcomes. In this paper, we present lessons learned from the first three years of a participatory modeling (PM) research project based on RRI principles and focused on the transformation of the food system in Flint, Michigan through identification of leverage points. Participatory modeling is a type of communit…
Navigating community engagement in participatory modeling of food systems
This paper describes the participatory modeling experiences of five discrete teams across the U.S. working to develop models of food systems to identify leverage points and policies to induce food system transformation. Collaboration between academic and community partners within these individual modeling processes enables teams to address food systems complexity, integrate scientific evidence and local knowledge into models, while improving a mo…
Technology adoption and weed emergence dynamics
Ecological practices such as intercropping maize ( Zea mays ) with cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata L.) have been promoted to combat parasitic weeds like Striga ( Striga asiatica ). Intercropping has been promoted across Africa as a Striga control practice (SCP) and food security measure. Despite past efforts, millions of smallholder farmers (cultivating < 2 ha of maize) still struggle to implement SCPs. Social and ecological factors that prevent SCP i…
Coproducing water-energy-food Nexus actionable knowledge
The water-energy-food (WEF) Nexus is an integrative framework for addressing the multi-scalar interdependencies that challenge sustainability solutions across the water, energy, and food systems. However, challenges linked to scale and data availability often make WEF analyses more theoretical, limiting their ability to offer practical, implementable solutions in policy and decision contexts. This paper introduces Collaborative Learning Schools (…
Building trust for collaborative natural resource management through participatory modeling
A central requirement of collaborative natural resource management is establishing trust between the actors involved, both horizontally between resource users and vertically between users and regulators. Previous studies have demonstrated that participatory modeling—the act of building a shared representation of a system with resource users—can surface assumptions, facilitate communication, and promote social learning around the resource system, …
Business (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Geography (8 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Agriculture (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Agricultural Innovations and Practices (5 works) · Citizen journalism (5 works) · Economics (5 works) · Engineering (5 works)