# Presentation: 757936

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- <date/time>

## Decision Support Tools:What this Workshop is All About

- Dreux J. Watermolen
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

## Presentation Overview

## Presentation Overview

- What are decision support tools?

## Presentation Overview

- What are decision support tools?
- Why use decision support tools?

## Presentation Overview

- What are decision support tools?
- Why use decision support tools?
- Are there different types of tools?

## Presentation Overview

- What are decision support tools?
- Why use decision support tools?
- Are there different types of tools?
- What was “Changing Landscapes 1”?

## What are Decision Support Tools?

## What are They?

- Three principle components:
- Database
- Model base
- User interface
- Designed to deal with ill- or semi-structured decisions by supporting a process that is iterative, integrative, and participative.

## Why Use Decision Support Tools?

## Decision Support Tools

- Help people make connections between land use decisions and natural resources.
- Highlight the consequences of projected land use change(s).
- Give voice to those not usually heard...

**Notes:**
Geo-spatial and Internet technologies
rapidly maturing and diffusing
commercially available
readily accessible

Decision support tools give us a predictive capacity to guide land use changes.

Among a range of tools that I’ll describe shortly, are tools that focus on Natural Resources, models that can help planners and community members bring science to decisions made about Natural Resources

## Decision Support Tools

- ...including those who may depend on watersheds or other resources for health, livelihood, and quality of life.

## Significance of Using Tools

- Decision support tools...
- Provide alternatives to traditional decision-making processes.
- Improve the ability of decision-makers.
- Are cost effective.

**Notes:**
Decision Support tools can be used to bring Science Based Decisions making
into a community planning process.

Improves decision maker’s abilities to:
enhance environmental management and protection
increase the quality of land use decisions
build and sustain local capacity

## Are There Different Types of Tools?

## Types of Tools

- Data access.
- Data provision.
- Interactive data mapping.
- Simple data analysis.
- Predictive modeling tools.

**Notes:**
Data Access tools tell a user where to find a data:

Data Provision is actual downloadable data.  This is one stop shopping, but often there are only a limited number of data sets to choose from.

Interactive Data Mapping allows users to create customizable maps,  DNR’s Aquatic and Terrestrial Resources Inventory is an example where the user specifies a particular land area, and can turn on and off particular attribute data to create basic natural resource-related maps.

Simple Data Analysis Tools allow for basic spatial data manipulation.  For instance, a program called Community Viz allows the user to set up constraints, indicators, variables and assumptions.  Proposed development scenarios then trigger warnings and calculates impacts based on the assigned variables.

Predictive Modeling Tools allow for spatial data manipulation for hypothetical scenarios with predictive results.  The Long-Term Hydrological Impacts Assessment model developed together by EPA and Purdue is an example.

## Types: Data Access

**A.T.R.I. Metadata Explorer**

## Types: Interactive Mapping

**A.T.R.I . Internet Mapping  **

## Types: Predictive Modeling

**L-THIA**

## Types: Predictive Modeling

**CITYgreen**

## What was “Changing Landscapes 1”?

## Changing Landscapes 1 Workshop Structure

**Tools Demonstrated**

- L-THIA
- PlaceIt
- Window to My Environment

- CommunityViz
- Dane Index
- TURM
- CITYgreen

**Notes:**
A selection of tools that were not only applicable to Wisconsin, but also served as a sampling from the range of five tool types I discussed earlier.
Presenters were given 40 minutes to demonstrate their tool.  We asked them to hit a number of points that we’ll cover in a bit.  After the presentation, audience members were given five minutes to fill out evaluation forms before they were marched off to the next of the seven tools listed on the screen.

I’m now going to zip through these tools to give you a cursory ideas of what they are like visually and what the input, output screens and other interfaces look like.  

## Changing Landscapes 1 Evaluation Form

**Notes:**
This audience is also varied, purposefully, which helps us understand what kinds of tools are best for certain users. Your personal and work experiences and technical expertise will undoubtedly affect how useful you view each tool. We expect these different reactions.

## Changing Landscapes 1 Evaluation Results

**Notes:**
This phase of the program is tool evaluation, not tool training. 

## Using Decision Support Tools

- Use tools from the beginning.
- Base tool selection on the users’ 	skill level.
- low-tech, free for beginners.
- state-of-the-art, complex, time consuming for experts.
- Don’t let tools steal the show.

## Problems to Overcome

- No single tool is perfect for everything.
- Technology is only as good as the supporting data.
- spatial information must be assembled and continually maintained.
- Data are often the limiting factor.

**Notes:**
Any sampling of tools (as we will see over the next day and a half)
Analyze different things and produce different results
Are intended for different audiences, different user-levels
Require varied levels of technical savvy
Do some things better than others

## Problems to Overcome

- Must not hide inherently political choices within technical selection of data or the analysis, presentation, or distribution of results - create an even playing field.
- The ability to store and access information  increases the potential for information abuse and misuse.

## For More Information...

**www.dnr.state.wi.us**

## Approach to  Assistance

## Phase I(completed)

- Established partnerships.
- DNR-EPA Region 5, DNR-state agencies, etc.
- Conducted* Changing Landscapes* workshop.
- Disseminated evaluation results.
- provided feedback to tool developers
- modified and web-enabled EPA tools

## Phase II(FY 04-05)

- Expand partnerships.
- Wisconsin Realtors Association
- Wisconsin Chapter, APA
- Conduct *Changing Landscapes II* workshop.
- Define statewide technical assistance efforts.
- focus = data distribution, tool introduction, technical assistance, and training

## Phase II(FY 04-05)

- Address identified problems.
- Tool refinement and development.
- Midwest Spatial Decision Support Network
- Develop and disseminate publications.

## Phase III(FY 05-06)

- Evaluate statewide training and technical assistance.
- Assess data and tool use in local decision-making and evaluate resulting decisions.
- Review and package partnership.

## Thank you!

- Questions?