Many public school buildings located in seismic areas were designed with obsolete criteria and built with an improper quality control. Faced with the necessity of mitigating future consequences, retrofitting techniques have been suggested with the purpose of obtaining acceptable seismic performances. The selection of the best reinforcement techniques among all alternatives available is a complex task due to the variety of decision factors that have an influence over the final decision. This task is even more difficult when the current seismic reinforcement guidelines or codes do not propose a rational methodology selection. The objective of this investigation is to propose a methodology that improves the selection of seismic reinforcing techniques with a transparency approach. This methodology consists in identifying the decision-making processes and decision criteria of the multi-criter...

This research was partially funded by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnolog?a e Innovaci?n Tecnol?gica del Per?, according to the Convenio de Gesti?n N 232-2015-FONDECYT.

Motivation and problem definition: A large number of public buildings designed with obsolete criteria are at high seismic risk and in need of structural rehabilitation. The task of selecting the optimal strategy poses important challenges for decision-makers due to the variety of intervention options and the fact that the construction sector is perceived to be one of the most corrupt in the economy. Objective: Given that transparency is an efficient anti-corruption strategy, a protocol is proposed for decision-making in seismic rehabilitation projects of public infrastructure that incorporates criteria which serve to increase transparency in the project development. Methods: Firstly, the literature was reviewed to describe current practices and regulations linked to decision-making in seismic rehabilitation/retrofitting of buildings. Secondly, relevant criteria that should be taken into ...