# Model-Based Governance
**Domain:** political science
**Doc Type:** Concept Node
**Classification:** Infrastructure Concept
**Maturity:** Evolving
**Related:** [[Governance Testbeds]], [[Computational Governance]], [[Nonlinear Dynamics]], [[Measurement Capacity]], [[Operational Logic]]
---
## Definition
**Governance systems using computational models to predict policy outcomes before implementation**, simulating effects of alternative institutional designs and parameter choices. Model-based governance enables more rigorous policy testing than traditional trial-and-error.
---
## General Context
Agent-based modeling, system dynamics, and computational models increasingly inform policy design. Governance testbeds incorporate modeling to predict outcomes and design feedback mechanisms.
---
## Computational Governance Context
[[wiki/Model-Based Governance|Model-based governance]] uses [[wiki/Nonlinear Dynamics|dynamical systems models]] to simulate [[wiki/Governance Testbeds|testbed outcomes]], with [[wiki/NOAA Data Pipelines|weather data integration]] for climate-adaptive scenarios. [[wiki/Measurement Capacity|Real-time measurement]] enables [[wiki/Operational State Machines|state machine]] policy adjustment.
---
## Key Insight
Models improve decision-making when they capture relevant causal mechanisms, but overconfidence in model predictions creates risks—unmeasured factors and model errors can produce failed policies despite sophisticated modeling.
---
## See Also
[[The Algorithmic State]], [[Climate Systems as Human Resilience Platforms]], [[Optimization Systems]], [[Mathematical Foundations]], [[Human Deliberation]]