Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE)

Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) is an application that assists and guides a user in doing Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) in a spatial way.

As input for the application, you need to build a criteria tree:

1. specify a main goal and supply a name for the final output map,
2. optionally, add groups to the main goal; a group is supposed to contain multiple factors,
3. add criteria to the main goal, and specify whether a criterion is a factor or a constraint.

For each factor and for each constraint, you need to specify a name as text (like a description), and an input map or input attribute column.

A criteria tree lists and defines:

• all inserted groups, factors and constraints,
• the way in which all groups, factors and constraints should be grouped, standardized and weighed,
• in order to calculate the output maps.

The initial output of the operation are so-called 'composite index' raster maps. These maps combine all input data according to the rules for weighing and standardization of the factors and/or constraints.

• As you can use multiple alternatives, which use different input maps, the output maps of the various alternatives can be compared to each other.
• The composite index maps can be classified or sliced so that the sliced output maps contain a limited number of classes. Furthermore, from the sliced output maps, the Shape Index and Connectivity Index can be calculated.

The output maps show the suitability for the goal that was set, and can be an aid in planning and decision-making.