For instance, the most creative scientists are synthesizers. The effectiveness of mid-scale information relies on its high visibility for use by team members to make easy comparisons or to synthesize information to facilitate the prioritization and recommendation phases of the review process. This synthesis process is essential if teams hope to reach clearly integrated interest-based agreements in a collaborative framework. The examples displayed within this document come from many sources. A number of them are from the Subbasin Review prototype efforts that were undertaken from fall 1997 through spring 1998.
Many examples also come from other mid-scale work completed over the past several years.
Teams can use these examples for ideas or modify them accordingly to fit the budget, data availability and time frames they will face for each review. The concept of synthesis is critical to the Subbasin Review process. The first level of synthesis, within functional areas, occurs when individual specialists combine their detailed data into displays that make sense at the subbasin scale. This type of synthesis takes place during the review's Step 3, Description of the Mid-scale Character, and it forms the base information for use in the second level of synthesis. The second level of synthesis takes place throughout all phases of the review but is brought together for final development in Step 4, Prioritization and Recommendations.