Design Layer / Hub Models

Madison Civic Cross-Institution Scenario Planning Layer

A coordination prototype for improving alignment between scenario planning efforts conducted by public agencies, nonprofit organizations, research institutions, and regional partnerships across the Madison civic ecosystem.

Prototype overview

The Madison Civic Cross-Institution Scenario Planning Layer proposes a structured coordination surface supporting compatibility between long-range planning exercises addressing housing, transportation, climate adaptation, infrastructure investment, workforce development, and public health environments.

The prototype does not centralize planning authority. It improves coordination by making scenario planning environments easier to interpret across institutional boundaries.

Coordination gap

Institutions across Madison regularly conduct scenario planning exercises exploring future conditions, policy tradeoffs, infrastructure needs, and implementation strategies. These planning environments are typically developed independently across agencies and organizations.

Without a shared scenario planning coordination layer, institutions may explore related future conditions without opportunities to align assumptions or planning timelines.

  • scenario planning environments operate across separate institutions
  • future-condition assumptions vary between planning exercises
  • cross-domain planning timelines may remain unaligned
  • organizations may duplicate modeling environments
  • regional planning opportunities may remain unevenly visible

Proposed coordination mechanism

The Cross-Institution Scenario Planning Layer would function as a structured visibility interface describing relationships between planning exercises across agencies, nonprofits, and research institutions.

  • visibility into scenario planning environments across institutions
  • alignment between infrastructure and climate planning exercises
  • connections between research modeling and policy planning environments
  • support for coordinated long-range planning assumptions
  • routing between organizations exploring related future conditions

Likely participating actors

This coordination layer would be strongest if supported by institutions already conducting scenario planning across the Madison civic ecosystem.

  • City of Madison planning departments
  • Dane County agencies
  • regional planning partnerships
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison research programs
  • Madison-area nonprofit organizations
  • infrastructure and sustainability collaboratives

Why this belongs in the Design Layer

This entry belongs in the Design Layer because it describes a coordination structure improving compatibility between scenario planning environments already operating within the Madison ecosystem.

The scenario planning layer represents a reusable hub-model coordination pattern supporting cross-sector long-range planning alignment.

Reusable pattern

Many cities conduct independent scenario planning exercises across institutions without shared coordination infrastructure connecting them. A shared scenario planning layer improves alignment between long-range planning environments across sectors.

Within Systems Atlas, this prototype defines a hub-model coordination structure supporting cross-sector scenario planning compatibility.