Related Websites

A Lexicon of Decision Making

This short narrative is intended to provide, in non-technical terms and in a readable way, definitions of the words most commonly used in a decision making context.

Annals of the Association of American Geographers

California Resources Agency's Geospatial Information Office

The mission of the California Geospatial Information Office is to lead and coordinate the development, licensing and sharing of geospatial data by state government agencies. California data is available for searching through the Data Catalog and for download through the GIS Library.

Community Mapping, PGIS, PPGIS and P3DM Virtual Library

Virtual libary on Community Mapping, Participatory GIS, Public Participation GIS, Participatory 3-D Modelling.

Computers, Environment and Urban Systems

Decision Analysis Society

Research in decision analysis.

Decision Support Systems

Decision Support Systems Resources

Introduction on DSS, glossary, history of DSS, multiple types of resource links.

Decision Support Systems for Forest Biodiversity

In the first phase (2002-2004) of this project NCSSF compiled an inventory of over 100 available DSS, and compared the ~30 most applicable to forest biodiversity issues to a set of decision-making needs identified by a panel of forest biodiversity experts.

In the second phase of the project (2004-2006), NCSSF compiled a number of case studies on how DSS have been applied in particular situations. We then wrote a guidebook which explores the context of forest biodiversity decision making and discusses when and how DSS might be useful (and when they might not).

Digital Coast

The tools on this page support coastal decision-making by transforming Digital Coast data into information tailored for specific issues. Some tools are Web-based, providing direct online analysis and viewing, while others are downloadable extensions that provide new functionality for desktop geographic information systems.

ESRI

ESRI designs and develops the world's leading geographic information system (GIS) technology. Data from ESRI is available as Online Services, data cd�s, downloadable free data, and premium data packages. ESRI also provides training, technical support, and professional services.

Ecobas

The ECOBAS project provides a system for documentation of mathematical descriptions of ecological processes. In particular ECOBAS focuses on
- convenient access to information
- complete and precise documentation of mathematical formulations including the limits of validity whereever feasible and
- standardization of documentation.

Ecological Modeling

Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM)Tools Network

EBM tools are software or other highly documented methods that can help implement EBM by:

- Providing models of ecosystems or key ecosystem processes.
- Generating scenarios illustrating the consequences of different management decisions on natural resources and the economy.
- Facilitating stakeholder involvement in planning processes.

EBM tools include data collection and management tools; data processing tools; conceptual modeling tools; modeling and analysis tools (such as watershed models, marine ecosystem models, dispersal models, habitat models, socioeconomic models, and model development tools); scenario visualization tools; decision support tools (such as coastal zone management tools, fisheries management tools, conservation and restoration site selection tools, land use planning tools, and hazard assessment and resilience planning tools); project management tools; stakeholder communication and engagement tools; and monitoring and assessment tools.

The EBM Tools Network is an alliance of EBM tool users, providers, and researchers to develop EBM tools and support their use in EBM implementation in coastal and marine environments and the terrestrial environments that affect them (watersheds).

Environmental Management

Environmental Modeling and Software

Environment and Planning

European Journal of Operational Research

Forest Ecology and Management

GeoVista Center

The Penn State GeoVista Center conducts and coordinates integrated and innovative research in GIScience, with strong emphasis on geovisualization. Their goal is to develop powerful human-centered methods and technologies that make it possible for scientists and decision makers to solve scientific, social, and environmental problems through computer-supported, visually-enabled analysis of the growing wealth of geospatial data.

Healthy Communities and Ecosystems

This site is aimed at protecting, sustaining, or restoring the health of people, communities, and ecosystems using integrated and comprehensive approaches and partnerships. �Focuses on pesticides and other chemical risks, including those to water supplies.

HumanDimensions.gov

HumanDimensions.gov, or HD.gov for short, is an interactive informational website and a portal with featured links related to the human dimensions of natural resource management. HD.gov guides users to credible on-line information, including methods, on-line tools, publications, and a calendar of events. HD.gov adds value to existing sites by highlighting the widely applicable aspects of their content, while retaining links to more detailed information. The primary audience for HD.gov is natural resource management professionals. The Web portal was developed to reduce the time required to find information and has a strong focus on the application of social science concepts, methods, and information. The use of nontechnical language makes content accessible to users regardless of background. The information on the site will also be helpful for both students and researchers.

Informs Online

Site for the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.

International Journal of Geographical Information Science

Journal of Environmental Engineering

Journal of Environmental Management

Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

Landscape and Urban Planning

Let's Improve Transportation

Let's Improve Transportation (LIT) is an experiment in participatory democracy. A research team based at the University of Washington has developed an innovative new website where the participants can:

- learn about proposed improvements to the central Puget Sound regional transportation system,
- consider the potential impacts of these changes on the communities, and
- work collaboratively with other residents to determine which changes the region should support.

The website is designed to lead any interested citizen through the following transportation planning process:

- brainstorm concerns,
- assess different goals for transportation improvement,
- create personal \ packages\ of transportation projects and funding,
- discuss and evaluate 5 representative packages in order to determine which ones can gain the greatest degree of participant support,
- and compose a report to communicate the final recommendations to the public and policy makers.

Modelling and Decision Support Tools

Tools and methods are listed alphabetically and in categories. �Each listing takes you to a page with a detailed description (with diagrams) and references.

Nature Serve Publications Library

Publications on using a suite of factors, methods and tools to assess the conservation status of species and ecosystems.

Open Forum on Participatory Geographic Information Systems and Technologies

CADSWES is an interdisciplinary Center for the research and development of decision support tools for management of water and environmental resources. The mission of CADSWES is to research, design, prototype and develop integrated decision support systems to help solve real-world water resources and environmental problems. Currently the primary research sponsors are the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Through collaborative research projects at CADSWES these three agencies combine resources to develop common tools for river and reservoir system management. RiverWare, a modeling environment for reservoir system planning, operations and analysis, is licensed commercially through the University of Colorado to contribute to more effective water resources management globally.

Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing

PlaceMattersTools

This dynamic database website is a resource for communities (their professional planners, public agencies, and concerned citizens) to identify tools and processes for better community design and decision making.

This website was developed by PlaceMatters with financial support from the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities. Several of the tools listed in this database come from an EPA report on Projected Land-Use Change.

Risk Management Toolkit

Description of the decision process for risk management.

Shared Vision Planning

Shared Vision Planning (SVP) is a collaborative approach to formulating water management solutions that combines three disparate practices: 1) traditional water resources planning, 2) structured public participation and 3) collaborative computer modeling. Although each of these elements has been successfully applied, what makes Shared Vision Planning unique is the integration of traditional planning processes with structured public participation and collaborative computer modeling. This web site is designed to inform visitors about Shared Vision Planning and how it is being applied in real-world situations. It features a step-by-step demonstration, information about the origins of SVP, current and historical case studies, and thorough explanations of shared vision planning models, resources and training for those interested in implementing the approach.

Short Course on Adaptive Management of Natural Resources

This course is designed to expose scientists and managers to the basic components and process of adaptive management. This approach is relevant to any sort of management decision that is repeated over time and may be useful in some cases with spatially replicated, one-time decisions. The course begins with a discussion of structured decision making, an umbrella process of which adaptive management is a special case. It then focuses on the key elements of structured decision making and adaptive management: objectives, potential management actions, models of system behavior, optimization methods, and monitoring programs. It discusses approaches for selecting appropriate objectives, how general objectives can be formalized into explicit objective functions, management actions for different classes of problems, development of models designed to project the consequences of the potential management actions on system behavior, optimization methods to identify decisions that are optimal with respect to the management objectives, a general approach to developing a monitoring program, as well as the specific roles of resulting data in the decision process. It shows how these components combine in the adaptive management process.

Structured Decision Making

This website is developed to highlight some key concepts and ideas about strucured decision making (SDM), to remove any mystery from SDM and to act as a resource to practitioners or to those considering its use. This website's content focus is on environmental resource management decisions, though the principles of SDM are universal and can be applied in any context.

The Center for Advanced Design Support for Water and Environmental Systems (CADSWES)

The GeoCommunity

The GeoCommunity� is a site for GIS, CAD, and mapping professionals and students to find news, articles, jobs, and events. The GeoCommunity also hosts the GIS Data Depot where you can download or purchase data at both state and county levels including DEM�s, DRG�s, and DOQQ�s.

The Geography Network

The Geography Network is a global network of geographic information users and providers. It provides the infrastructure needed to support the sharing of geographic information among data providers, service providers, and users around the world. Data can be searched for by topic or geographic extent.