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National Service: Novel Strategies to Measure 

the Return on Forestry Risk Mitigation 

January 18, 2023 

Office of Research and Evaluation 
 

Welcome 

Mary M. Hyde, PhD 

Director, Office of Research and Evaluation 

3 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About AmeriCorps 

• A U.S. federal agency that is the nation’s largest grant maker for national service 

and volunteering 

• Through national service programs such as AmeriCorps State & National, VISTA, 

AmeriCorps Seniors, and NCCC it provides opportunities to thousands of Americans 

to effect change in their communities 

• AmeriCorps grantees support initiatives in education, economic opportunity, 

healthy futures, disaster services, environmental stewardship and support for 

veterans and military families. They work in diverse, urban, rural, and frontier 

communities 

• Following the passage of the Serve America Act (2009), AmeriCorps began to 

organize and develop an evidence base for its programs. Investments by 

AmeriCorps and its grantees since then have resulted in the development of a 

base of evidence for agency-supported programs. 
 

 

 

 

The Evidence Act and AmeriCorps Learning Agenda 

• The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (“Evidence Act”) 

established processes for the federal government to modernize its data 

management practices and evidence-building functions to inform policy decisions 

to measure and improve the impact of federal programs. 

• Memoranda issued by the Executive Office of the President to all heads of departments and 

agencies: 

– OMB Memorandum, M-19-23 ... (Establish agency accountability for use of evidence and the 

development of a learning agenda) 

– OMB Memorandum, M-20-12 ... (Build and support evidence and evaluation capacity) 

– OMB Memorandum, M-21-27 ... (Restoring trust and integrity through transparent use and access 

to evidence 

• AmeriCorps Learning Agenda

https://americorps.gov/sites/default/files/document/AmeriCorps-LearningAgenda-2022-2026.pdf 

• Webinar Series https://americorps.gov/about/our-impact/webinars 
 

 

 

AmeriCorps’ Vision for Return 

on Investment (ROI) Studies 

Lily Zandniapour, PhD 

Research and Evaluation Manager, Office of Research 

and Evaluation 

6 
).

 

 

 

 

AmeriCorps Learning Agenda -Evaluation Question 

Evergreen Learning and Evidence Building Activities 

• How can AmeriCorps empirically document the 

social and economic returns on investment in 

national service strategies and interventions? 

• Conduct targeted return on investment analyses 

Source: AmeriCorps Learning https://americorps.gov/sites/default/files/document/AmeriCorps-LearningAgenda-2022-2026.pdf 
About Return on Investment 

Total Benefits 

= ROI 

Total Costs 
 

 

 

About the ROI Studies Project 

ICF supporting a multi-year effort to: 

• Review AmeriCorps’s national service 

portfolio for ROI-ready programs 

• Select programs for a deeper look at 

ROI feasibility 

• Develop four ROI studies per year 

• https://americorps.gov/evidenceexchange/return-investment-roistudies 
 

 

Programs Studied 

Improving Lives, Strengthening Communities, and Fostering 

Civic Engagement Through Service (americorps.gov) 
Featured Today 

De.scription AmeriCorps, the federal agency 

Ne"Yada Conservation Corps.(NCC) is an environmental s.ervice program of for volunteerism and national 

the Great Basin Institute dedicated to promoting field res.earch and direct service, provides opportunities for 

conservation service . NCC has utilized AmeriCorps suppon for its Americans to serve their country 

conservation work since 1999. NCC supports NeYada's communities and domestically, address the nation's 

public lands by deploy;ng forestry learns to mitigate fire threats, reduce the most pressing challenges, improve 

spread of invas.ive s.pecies,. and restore and re-designate trails. In addition. lives and communities, and 

monitoring and assessment teams capture critical data on the condition of strengthen dvic engagement. 

forest and rangeland health. Each year, the agency invests 

more than $800 million in g rants 

Re-tum on Investment Analysis for local nonprofit. community, 

tribal, and state organizatK>ns; To better understand the impact of the program in relation to costs., places more than 250,000 AmeriCorps commis.sioned a return on inves.tment (ROI) analysis by ICF. an AmeriCorps members and independent research firm. ROI analyses of national service programs 

AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers in estimate the monetary value of benefits t~t a program generates per dollar 

intensive service roles; and inYested. 

empowe rs millions more to serve 

as long-term, short-term, or one-­

time volunteers. L-eam more at 

AmeriCorps.gov. 

AmerlCorp,,gov 

Conservation Corps 

Return on Investment Study: 

Nevada Conservation Corps 

Submitted lo: 

AmeriCorp, 

250 ESI..SW 

Washington. DC 20024 

Submitted by: 

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Foirfox. VA 22031 

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11 
 

 

Featured Program: 

Nevada Conservation Corps 

Scott Scherbinski 

Program Director for Nevada 

Conservation Corps, Great Basin Institute 
 

 

 

 

 

About Nevada Conservation Corps (NCC) 

• NCC is a program of the Great Basin Institute dedicated to promoting field 

research and direct conservation service under AmeriCorps since 1999. 

• NCC supports Nevada’s and California’s communities and public lands by 

deploying forestry teams to mitigate fire threats, reduce the spread of invasive 

species, and restore and re-designate trails. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

AmeriCorps’ Role in NCC 

AmeriCorps members: 

• Provide crew-based services that reduce wildland fire threat through fuels 

reduction 

• Engage in the treatment and abatement of noxious weeds 

• Work through post-fire re-seeding and native plant re-introduction processes 

• Oversee trail management and creation 

• Participate in health and assessment teams, which capture critical data on the 

condition of forest and rangeland health 

14 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NCC Evaluation Results 

• 2020 evaluation of the efficacy of NCC fuel reduction treatments at 210 sites 

from 2019 to 2020. 

• Measured fire regime condition class (FRCC), which relates to risk to ecosystem 

sustainability and risk of uncharacteristic wildland fire behavior and effects. 

• Treatment sites matched to a comparison group with FRCC values measured 

before and after the treatment. 

• FRCC ratings on treated plots decreased (2.10) compared to un-treated sites 

(2.39) 

Source: Center for Program Evaluation. (2020). Great Basin Institute – Nevada Conservation Corps – Evaluation Report 2019 – 2020. 

Reno, NV. Retrieved from 

https://americorps.gov/sites/default/files/document/GreatBasinInstitute.21ES231073.Evidencedoc3_EDITED_508.pdf 
 

 

 

ROI Innovation: 

Estimating the Return on NCC Activities 

Ben Miller, Project Manager for the ROI Studies Project, ICF 

Dominic Modicamore, Technical Lead for the ROI Studies Project, ICF 

George Voigt, Economics Analyst for the ROI Studies Project, ICF 
General Approach to Stakeholder Mapping 

Benefits 

•Program participants 

• Family members 

•Wider community 

•AmeriCorps members 

•Government 

• Federal 

• State 

• Local 

Costs 

• AmeriCorps members 

(opportunity cost) 

• Funders (opportunity 

Cost) 

• Private funders 

• Government funders 
NCC Program Benefits 

AmeriCorps • Additional earnings from reduced unemployment and increased educational 

attainment Members • Post-tax living allowances 

• Tax revenue from increased earnings by NCC AmeriCorps members post-program and 

related economic activity Government 

• Reduced lifetime spending on corrections, public assistance, and social insurance 

from increased educational attainment by NCC AmeriCorps members 

• Wildfire reduction benefits 

Society • Habitat improvement benefits 

• Trail maintenance and creation benefits 
NCC Program ROI Results 

ROI Scenario 

ROI Calculation Short-Term Medium-Term Long-Term 

Total Benefits per Federal Dollar* 

With low ecosystem benefits $1. l 7 $8.35 $11.48 

With average ecosystem benefits $2.58 $24.02 $32.02 

With high ecosystem benefits $6.57 $68.46 $90.28 

Total Benefits per Funder Dollar* 

With low ecosystem benefits $0.98 $7.08 $9.75 

With average ecosystem benefits $2.20 $20.66 $27.55 

With high ecosystem benefits $5.66 $59. l 7 $78.04 

Federal Government Benefits per Federal Dollar $0.04 $0. l 7 $0.23 

* These ROI estimates are provided ba1sed on low, average, and high estimates of ecosystem benefits to society. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Benefit Valuation 

• Combining market and non-market benefits produces a more comprehensive 

measure of program impacts. 

A. Market Benefits: Those services that have active markets generating a value (e.g. reduced 

government spending on corrections, public assistance, and social insurance from AmeriCorps 

members increased educational attainment and reduced unemployment) 

B. Non-Market Benefits: Those services that do not have active markets generating a value (e.g. the 

ecosystem service values preserved due to fuel reduction treatments reducing the chance of 

treated sites burning) 

• AmeriCorps members generate market benefits for themselves and the federal 

government. 

• NCC’s activities generate benefits to society through non-market values of 

ecosystem services, benefits to human health, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, 

and increased health and recreation from trails. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wildfire Reduction Benefits – Three-Part Methodology 

• Estimated 203.39 acres prevented from burning due to NCC, based on the number 

of treated acres (2,825) and the estimate of burn reduction (7.2%) from treatment 

• Three distinct benefits based on protected acres: 

1. Ecosystem services preserved 

• A range of ecosystem service values ($393 - $2,890 per acre) estimate the benefits from 

areas not burned 

2. Human health benefits from reduced air particulates from smoke 

• $467 per acre 

3. Reduced carbon dioxide emissions 

• Monetized based on social cost of carbon of $47.76 per ton 

• A range of values ($1 - $93 per acre) vary based how much carbon is released 
 

 

 

 

Habitat Improvement Benefits – Additional information 

• ROI study estimated ecosystem service values based on the 1,866 acres 

treated for habitat restoration and a range of ecosystem services based on 

habitat type: 

• $7,697 - $35,151 per acre for forested mountains (83 acres treated during study period) 

• $6,687 - $78,571 per acre for other ecosystem designations (1,866 acres treated during study 

period) 
 

 

 

 

 

Benefit Discounting Through Regrowth 

• NCC’s activities accrue benefits over time, but those benefits decrease as time 

passes 

• Values for wildfire reduction and habitat regrowth are discounted over time to 

account for the regrowth of flammable material, the return of invasive species, 

and the reduction of native ecosystem services: 

• 10% loss of benefits over the first 10 years 

• 84% loss of benefits over 30 years. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trail Maintenance and Creation Benefits – Additional 

information 

• 552.91 miles of trails maintained/created by NCC 

• Benefits to society of $3.27 per mile of trail based on: 

• Health benefits $2.94 per mile 

• Recreation benefits $0.33 per mile 

• These benefits accrue over time, but in order to account for degradation of 

trails over time the stream of annual benefits is adjusted to reflect an average 

cost of ongoing maintenance to trails (~50% of annual benefits) 
 

Program Perspective on the ROI Study 

Scott Scherbinski, Program Director for Nevada 

Conservation Corps, Great Basin Institute 
 

Reflection 

Ben Olsen 

Deputy Regional Administrator for the Western Region 

26 
 

Q&A Panel Facilitator 

Emily McDonald, PhD 

Research Analyst, Office of Research and Evaluation 

27 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Q & A Panel Discussion: 

• Ben Miller, Project Manager for the ROI Studies Project, ICF 

• Dominic Modicamore, Technical Lead for the ROI Studies Project, ICF 

• Benjamin Olsen, Deputy Regional Administrator, West Region, AmeriCorps 

• Scott Scherbinski, Program Director for Nevada Conservation Corps, Great 

Basin Institute 

• George Voigt, Economics Analyst for the ROI Studies Project, ICF 

• Lily Zandniapour, PhD, AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation 

28 
 

 

 

 

Thank you for attending today’s webinar. 

The recording and support materials will be provided in the next two weeks. Those 

items will be located on the AmeriCorps Impact Webinar page at: 

https://americorps.gov/webinar/national-service-novelstrategies-measure-return-forestry-risk-mitigation 

To inquire about the work presented in this webinar, please reach out to 

Evaluation@cns.gov 

29