July 8-9 Santa Barbara

From Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP)
Return to Decisions Cluster

Possible Cluster Activities:

Explore links with air quality and other application areas
Listen to what activities ongoing within agencies
Collect use cases
Align with ESIP Strategic plan
Plan Winter Meeting with Decisions theme
Include other social sciences, not just decision-making

Desired Outcomes:

Establish Metrics- How to measure success? This is everything. ROI, risk assessment, articulation methods, tracing outcomes to actions. Confuse outcomes with outputs. Assessments drive evaluations. Are assessment tools adequate? Are we measuring/collecting the science info needed and did decision decisions produce desired results? If not, why?
Success stories sometimes lack success stories (don’t answer metrics questions)
Link outcomes/benefits/societal benefits

Winter Meeting themes:

success stories/failures, metrics for success, gather use cases, decision tools/services

Potential speakers and attendees:

World Bank, RFF/Molly, Rand, Pam Whitney (House Committee on Science), NOAA/RISA, NCAR Societal Impacts Program, USDA Extension, high-level managers, actual decision makers

Needs:

Success stories. And what did not work.
Systematic, retrospective analysis. Are tools/data appropriate to the needs. Lawrence mentioned successful applied stories
Data integration complicates the process – did it add value to reduce risk?
How to identify generalized needs at broader scale?
Who is using environ indicators? Reality of forces/pressures. Recognize all aspects
Environmental conditions? Should responses relate more to pressures?
Better articulate responsiveness of info to needs
What do the data mean?
Readiness, timeliness needs
Case studies / success stories / use cases- IT/benefits
Defining added value may be difficult
Try to understand how people make decisions
Data Standards for decision-making
Language barriers between scientists and policy makers

Roles of IT:

IT and info products aspect of decision making
Overpromising IT?

Roles of social science

Value of the information
Decision perceptions
Human aspects of organizations/architecture