Finding leverage points for sustainability transformation of industrial and infrastructure systems is challenging, given that transformation is emergent from the complex interactions among socio-technical system elements over time within a specific social, technical and geographical context. Participatory multi-modelling, in which modellers and stakeholders collaborate to develop multiple interacting models to support a shared understanding of systems, is a promising approach to support sustainability transformations. The participatory process of modeling can serve as a leverage point by facilitating social learning amongst stakeholders, in which models can function as boundary objects that facilitate dialogue between stakeholders from different social worlds. We propose that participatory multi-modeling allows for the creation of a boundary object ecology, which involves a set of interacting and co-evolving boundary objects emerging throughout the modeling process. To explore this, we analyse the participatory multi-modelling process in the Windmaster project in the Rotterdam Port industrial cluster to understand which design choices were key to the creation of boundary objects. Our analysis shows that two types of design choices were key: design choices that enabled translations between participants, and those between participants and their organisation. We conclude that conceptualising participatory multi-modelling as a process of an evolving boundary object ecology, creating and adapting multiple interacting boundary objects provides a novel perspective that is useful for analysis and design of future participatory multi-modeling processes.

鉴于在特定的社会，技术和地理环境下，随着时间的推移，社会技术系统元素之间的复杂交互作用正在发生转变，因此寻找工业和基础设施系统可持续性转型的杠杆点具有挑战性。参与式多模型化是建模人员和利益相关者合作开发多个交互模型以支持对系统的共同理解的一种有希望的方法，它可以支持可持续性转型。在参与过程通过促进利益相关者之间的社会学习，建模可以充当一个杠杆点，其中模型可以充当边界对象，促进来自不同社会世界的利益相关者之间的对话。我们建议参与式多模型化可以创建边界对象生态，其中涉及在整个建模过程中出现的一组相互作用和共同演化的边界对象。为了探索这一点，我们分析了鹿特丹港工业集群的Windmaster项目中的参与式多模型化过程，以了解哪些设计选择是创建边界对象的关键。我们的分析表明，两种类型的设计选择是关键：设计选择使参与者之间以及参与者与组织之间的翻译成为可能。我们得出的结论是，将参与式多模型概念化为不断演变的边界对象生态系统的过程，创建和适应多个相互作用的边界对象提供了一种新颖的观点，可用于分析和设计未来的参与式多模型过程。