The latter is important because of the nature of the agencies' support groups. Finally, arbitrators endeavor to make objective, court-like decisions. They rely on data collected by others and make authoritative allocations after hearing evidence from all sides. Output from the LIAM showing how organizations are placed on the role map. Each circle represents the combined score of respondents for a single organization.
Analysts use the role map to understand the interaction of the various roles.
Advocate agencies often develop alliances with Arbitrators because the Arbitrators rely on Advocates for information. For example, Advocates often provide the opening to initiate planning or the support around which to build a consensus. Guardians often pursue holding actions or seek to use their constituency to show injury from an Advocate's proposals. Agency roles are typically consistent over time. If an agency has been a Guardian in one type of problem, that agency will usually be a Guardian when the same type of problem reappears.