The Human Story Behind Smartsettle
A Journey of Purpose by Ernest Thiessen
In the kingdom of Nepal during the 1980s, decision-making took place face-to-face, whether in the open air of farmers' fields or around the boardroom tables of His Majesty's government offices. Collaboration was a challenge as we navigated the diverse interests of local leaders, farmers, landowners, the landless, NGO volunteers, and international funders. Progress was painstaking, with countless brainstorming sessions and ideas for water distribution sketched out with paper and pencil. As a volunteer engineer with the Mennonite Central Committee, I was tasked with developing an irrigation feasibility study for 600 hectares of irrigable land on the Andhi Khola Project. We knew that bringing more water to the terraced hillsides beneath the Himalayas would be life-giving for a local population of 10,000 people, who were dependent on monsoon rains and working hard to survive.
I experienced firsthand the immense challenge of negotiating consensus, as each group brought its own interests, fears, and hopes to the table. This work led to a scholarship to pursue my academic endeavors with a PhD in Water Resource Systems Planning and Analysis. After sharing the story of how the Andhi Khola Irrigation Project succeeded through collaborative efforts—benefiting even the landless and winning the UN Blue Planet Prize—my major advisor at Cornell, Professor Pete Loucks, posed a challenge: Could I bridge the gap between engineers and decision-makers?
That question became the foundation of my work. I developed an algorithm for decision-making that Harvard Professor Emeritus Howard Raiffa later endorsed as more effective than previous models, including those of Nobel Laureate John Nash. These respected endorsements gave me the confidence to turn my theory into practice. Over three decades of refinement led to the creation of nine advanced algorithms that now power the system from a secure, neutral site.
Today, Smartsettle offers a platform where even the most complex agreements can be reached fairly, bringing tangible benefits to all parties involved. It’s more than just a tool for decision-making—it’s a system designed to transform collaboration and make progress possible where it once seemed out of reach.