Decisions
The Environmental Decision Making Cluster of the ESIP Federation
Chair: Ana Prados aprados@umbc.edu
Vice Chair: Chuck Hutchinson chuck@ag.arizona.edu
Get Involved: Monthly Telecons
The Decisions Cluster has regular telecons on the fourth Wednesday of every Month at 3 PM EST
- Next telecon: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 3pm EST
- Access Code: *1297219*
- Minutes of past telecons/meetings:
- December 22 telecon
- November 29 telecon
- June 23 telecon
- June 2 telecon
- April 28 telecon
- March 24 telecon
- Feb 24 telecon
- Dec 15 telecon
- Dec 1 telecon
- Oct 27 telecon
- Sept 22 telecon
- Aug 25 telecon
- Aug 13 telecon
- July 8-9 Santa Barbara Meeting
Join the Cluster E-mail List
ESIP 2011 Winter Meeting Decisions Workshop
Introduction to Evaluation Workshop
Ann Doucette, Director, The Evaluators' Institute, George Washington University
From Insight to Impact: Managing YOUR Data Through Evaluation
Sponsored by the Decisions Cluster, this workshop covers evaluation basics and GEO as a Case Study for how to improve the value of ESIP member activities through evaluation. Does not require previous experience with project evaluation
Interventions and programs are implemented within complex environments that present challenges in evaluating efficiency and effectiveness and attributing outcomes and impact to specific actions. A general problem in evaluation efforts — and what often causes them to fall short of their intended objectives — is the failure to fully articulate a theory of change that includes the identification of critical mechanisms that support optimal outcomes; to select measureable objectives that are actionable, meaning that they are linked to practices that an organization can actually do something about; to incorporate diverse stakeholders including end-users; to craft the evaluation in terms of its role in data-driven decision-making; and, lastly to effectively communicate the return on investment in terms of not only cost, but human and social capital.
This workshop will provide an interactive opportunity for participants to become more familiar with effective evaluation approaches that include a focus on crafting a theory of change that characterizes the outcome goal(s) and impact as well as identifying the mechanisms of change – moving from activity to results. Matching evaluation levels with the objectives to be achieved (e.g., linking gap analysis with theory of change, etc.) will be addressed, as well as optimizing the actionability of evaluation efforts. The workshop will examine performance measurement strategies that support actionable data. Data based decision-making, value-based issues, and practice-based evidence related to evaluation and monitoring (M & E) activities (process, outcome, and impact) will be emphasized. A case study approach, focusing on the work of the Group on Earth Observations will be used as an illustrative example of how members of the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners can better use evaluation tools to achieve outcomes and to optimize the impact of their work.
Evaluation Resources and Workshops
ESIP 2011 Winter Meeting Evaluation Workshop
Mid-Term Evaluation of GEOSS Implementation note: large pdf document, loads slowly
Environmental Evaluators Network
- Check page soon for June 2011 Environmental Evaluators Network Forum in Washington D.C
Events and Activities
Upcoming Meetings
Other Resources
Articles, Books, reports
- The Honest Broker: Making Sense of Science in Policy and Politics
- The Emerging Science of Environmental Applications (Dozier and Gail)
- Uses and limitations of observations and data in decision support for selected sectors and regions
- Unscientific America - a quick and interesting read about barriers to communicating and using science information
GEO request for advisors to join Decision Support teams
About the Cluster
Earth Science data and research can play an important role in informing decision making activities and applications in the commercial and public sectors. One of the main priorities of the Decisions cluster is to support ESIP member evaluation activities and assessments concerning the value of Earth Science data.
The Cluster also addresses topics such as:
- The value of scientific models in predicting future states and scenarios, such as the IPCC
- the economic value of Earth science data in decision settings;
- data requirements for environmental decisions-making
- decision making under deep environmental uncertainty;
- collaborative environments for assessing scenarios and consequences of decisions involving multiple stakeholders;
- case studies in environmental decision-making;
- integrated physical-economic models;
- perceptions of long-term climatic uncertainty;
- tools, services, models, and associated standards for data-driven decision support.
Chair- Ana Prados Vice-Chair- Chuck Hutchinson
