The tools needed to support the interests of stakeholders would provide
a functionality similar to that needed by the decision makers. However, the
technical training and proficiency of stakeholders, particularly among
the general public, may well be less than the capabilities of individuals
entrusted with resource management decisions. A stakeholder’s toolkit has
to be carefully designed to accommodate, and perhaps anticipate, the more
limited technical capabilities of stakeholders, and its functionality may have
to be more broadly defined than that of the toolkit developed to assist
decision makers.
The stakeholder’s toolkit should assist stakeholders in reviewing and
understanding the technical and policy bases for decisions regarding
the management of specific environmental resources. The toolkit should
provide the stakeholders with the capability to readily identify, collate,
examine, interpret, and evaluate the data, model results, and other information used to arrive at particular resource management decisions. The
toolkit should make transparent the alternative actions and the information base used by managers to arrive at a decision.
Additionally, the stakeholder’s toolkit should facilitate virtual interactions (via the Internet) between stakeholders and other participants in the
resource management process (e.g., decision makers, technical support staff,
and risk assessors). Similarly, the results developed with different components in the stakeholder’s toolkit should be transferable to decision makers
and other professional participants in the environmental management
process. It is anticipated that stakeholder access to information will be
mainly through the World Wide Web or advances in this communication
technology. The Internet will likely increase the number and technical
sophistication of stakeholder groups during the coming decades. The stakeholder’s toolkit should therefore provide access to all of the technical tools
(e.g., models, data, analytical techniques, and visualization) used in the
resource management and decision-making process.
12.4.1 Data-Mining and Statistical Tools
Development of the stakeholder’s toolkit should initially focus on identifying and selecting tools that facilitate the statistical interpretation of
data and information produced by the technical support staff and decision
makers. Stakeholders probably will not develop and execute complex
ecological models. However, they may employ sophisticated statistical
analyses of large sets of data and model results or implement intricate decision models as part of their participation in the resource management
process.
Stakeholders need methods that help them interpret, understand, and
evaluate these kinds of technical aspects associated with specific resource
management decisions. Such methods should emphasize capabilities in recognizing, retrieving, and presenting relevant model results, data, and other
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a functionality similar to that needed by the decision makers. However, the
technical training and proficiency of stakeholders, particularly among
the general public, may well be less than the capabilities of individuals
entrusted with resource management decisions. A stakeholder’s toolkit has
to be carefully designed to accommodate, and perhaps anticipate, the more
limited technical capabilities of stakeholders, and its functionality may have
to be more broadly defined than that of the toolkit developed to assist
decision makers.
The stakeholder’s toolkit should assist stakeholders in reviewing and
understanding the technical and policy bases for decisions regarding
the management of specific environmental resources. The toolkit should
provide the stakeholders with the capability to readily identify, collate,
examine, interpret, and evaluate the data, model results, and other information used to arrive at particular resource management decisions. The
toolkit should make transparent the alternative actions and the information base used by managers to arrive at a decision.
Additionally, the stakeholder’s toolkit should facilitate virtual interactions (via the Internet) between stakeholders and other participants in the
resource management process (e.g., decision makers, technical support staff,
and risk assessors). Similarly, the results developed with different components in the stakeholder’s toolkit should be transferable to decision makers
and other professional participants in the environmental management
process. It is anticipated that stakeholder access to information will be
mainly through the World Wide Web or advances in this communication
technology. The Internet will likely increase the number and technical
sophistication of stakeholder groups during the coming decades. The stakeholder’s toolkit should therefore provide access to all of the technical tools
(e.g., models, data, analytical techniques, and visualization) used in the
resource management and decision-making process.
12.4.1 Data-Mining and Statistical Tools
Development of the stakeholder’s toolkit should initially focus on identifying and selecting tools that facilitate the statistical interpretation of
data and information produced by the technical support staff and decision
makers. Stakeholders probably will not develop and execute complex
ecological models. However, they may employ sophisticated statistical
analyses of large sets of data and model results or implement intricate decision models as part of their participation in the resource management
process.
Stakeholders need methods that help them interpret, understand, and
evaluate these kinds of technical aspects associated with specific resource
management decisions. Such methods should emphasize capabilities in recognizing, retrieving, and presenting relevant model results, data, and other
234
Jeffery P. Holland et al.