Using Tools

Gathering data to use in technology tools and using them in an effective manner can be difficult and time consuming.  It is important to understand what EBM tools can and can't do for your project, what your project wants to get out of tool use, and how to use tools effectively before initiating tool use.   [Please note: The Why Use Tools document can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.]  Also, learn more about questions to ask before you start using tools and best practices for using tools effectively.

What tools CAN do when used in an effective process:

• Help you incorporate a wider array of ecosystem and human considerations into decision making.
• Help you build on (rather than repeat) other's work by using parameter databases, algorithms, and analyses built into tools.
• Help guide you through processes so you can move from data to decision making more quickly.
• Save you time and help you explore a wider range of alternatives by automating analyses or processes that occur repeatedly.
• Help you document what inputs and parameters were used in analyses and reasons that decisions were made.
• Help build collaboration among diverse project participants by creating a forum where stakeholder groups learn about and need to account for each others' goals and concerns.

What tools do NOT do:

• Provide answers or decisions.  They can provide quantitative results and visualization to help make decisions, however.
• Eliminate the need for analyses specific to your project.  In fact, it may not be optimal to use an analytical tool if a project has highly constrained management options or analyses only need to be done a few times.
• Come with all the data they need.  Projects considering using a tool should examine whether the data to use the tool already exists, and if it doesn't, whether there is sufficient time and resources to gather the necessary data.
• Eliminate the need to make tradeoffs between competing objectives.  They may be able to help identify solutions that reduce negative impacts, however.
• Replace the need for intensive human interaction and collaboration or eliminate conflict.  Poor incorporation of tools into an EBM process can actually increase conflict.

• Make sure you understand the time, funding, and expertise needed to collect the data needed to use the tool (or tools); run the tool; and interpret and communicate tool results.  [See Getting Started for a more comprehensive list of issues to discuss when getting started using tools.  One of the best ways to gather this information is by talking to previous tool users and the tool developer. 



• Allow enough time for an iterative process. Tool use is most effective when stakeholders can explore a range of alternatives and make improvements to scenarios (and possibly the tools themselves) as they learn about the process, the trade-offs involved in meeting diverse objectives, and the possible results of different decisions.



• Make sure you are using tools that provide the types of results that you need. Some tools provide general indices rather than quantitative results, while others provide highly quantitative results which may need to be generalized for management and communication purposes.  In addition, some tools may not provide results at the temporal or spatial scales appropriate for the management decisions that you need to make.



• Don't expect tools to provide all the answers. Tools are generally best used to make strategic decisions (such as choosing where to place conservation areas to help achieve both fisheries and biodiversity objectives) rather than tactical decisions (such as setting fisheries catch limits).

Data Issues

• Invest in the data management and documentation process up front by accounting for data management and documentation in project design and budget.  Well-managed and documented data is much more useful to a project because it can be used by multiple collaborators over a long time period.



• Recognize that poor input into tools or models will result in poor output. There is no clear threshold for when data or analyses are too limited or flawed to be valid, but projects should always be alert to this possibility. Less data precision is needed for regional and/or long-term decisions than local decisions for immediate needs.



• Recognize that even though data and tools are incomplete and imperfect, decisions will be made on incomplete data whether tools are used or not. Tools may still be able to facilitate and improve EBM processes even if there are data gaps or flawed data.



• Be open and honest about data gaps and the uncertainty of existing data. Identifying and presenting data gaps up front will lend credibility to the process and help focus resources on gathering needed data.  The data collection process can be a beneficial to a project if it is used as a time to build partnerships and a common body of information.



• Incorporate human knowledge into the decision making process. Subject matter experts can fill in gaps in existing data sets, and local resource users are often one of the best sources of information about historical and current resource use and condition. Collection of human knowledge should use rigorous social science data collection techniques.



• Plan for a long-term data acquisition process to ensure a steady stream of current and accurate information.

Engaging Stakeholders and Building Collaborations

• Figure out the full range of stakeholders for your project and engage them in the EBM process and tool use as soon as possible. Stakeholders are any people or groups who will influence, be affected by, or have responsibility for potential management actions. It is critical to engage stakeholders as soon as possible because:



• It helps build a common knowledge base among stakeholders about the project and the issues the project is addressing. 



• It helps ensure that the full range of stakeholder concerns and interests are understood and accounted for.



• Tool result "customers" such as natural resources management agencies and local governments are more likely to use tool results to inform their actions if they participated in generating the results.



• Stakeholders that are affected by EBM decisions such as recreational fishermen are more likely to view tool results as legitimate and comply with EBM implementation if they participated in decision making processes.



• When presenting to and working with stakeholders, tailor presentations and materials to different audiences.  For instance, natural resource managers, municipal officials, industry representatives, and concerned citizens may be interested in different levels of information about tools and tools results.



• Make sure stakeholders understand that using tools is a way to evaluate the possible results of different decisions not the way decisions are made.



• Figure out what role different stakeholders will play in tool use.  At a minimum, stakeholders should know what tools will be used, why they were chosen, the information that the tool provides, the level of uncertainty of tool results, and how tool results will be used in decision making processes. If some situations, it may be possible to host public workshops to demonstrate how the tools work and/or let stakeholder actually use the tools themselves.



• Engage a good facilitator for the EBM process and tool use and set up clear rules of engagement for participants. Quality facilitation can make the difference between a successful process and a process that gets bogged down in partisan fighting.



• Acknowledge and account for stakeholders' primary interests and mandates. Even when people or groups are committed to EBM, they will generally have other primary interests and mandates and may only be able to contribute to EBM when it is clear that they can meet these primary interests through or in addition to EBM. 

Running Tools

• Perform sensitivity analyses (examinations of how much outputs change when inputs are altered) whenever possible. These analyses can help you understand your tool or model results and identify if there are crucial points where minor changes in input parameters have a major change in outputs.  Generating a range of tool results also helps demonstrate that tools show possibilities not answers.



• "Make everything as simple as possible but not simpler." [Attributed to Albert Einstein].  Tool analyses and results can get very complex. Opt for simplicity whenever possible.



• Do not use tools or tool results in a vacuum.  When using tools, seek extensive peer review of tool use methodologies to ensure credible results.  One way to facilitate this input is by forming a technical advisory committee for tool use.  Once tool results are generated, validate them with subject matter experts and people with extensive local knowledge to make sure they make sense. If they don't, figure out why. Data and tool analyses could be flawed, or data could be revealing new trends.



• Evaluate your tool use process once your project is well-underway or completed.  The lessons that you have learned and publicly documented will help others learn from your challenges and successes.

This list of questions is designed to help potential EBM tool users figure out what they want to get out of tool use, what resources they have available to use tools, and how they will use tools within their management decision making process.  Having discussions about these questions among all the relevant stakeholders prior to starting to use tools will help a project make more informed decisions about which tools to choose for their project and how they use those tools.  [Please note: The Preparing to Use EBM Tools document can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.]

• What are the specific natural features in your region that your project is interested in protecting, improving, and/or restoring?  Natural features can include terrestrial, freshwater, or marine species, habitats, or ecosystems.  There may be a lot of important natural features, so it is best to focus on the most critical features such as the ones that are most important to the community or ecosystem, the most threatened, or the ones for which you have the best chance of influencing their status.



• What are the specific social and economic features in your region that your project is interested in protecting, improving, and/or restoring?  Social and economic features can include community or cultural values, human health, the "look" of your landscape or seascape, and recreational or commercial opportunities.  Again, there are probably a lot of important social and economic features, so it is best to focus on the most critical features such as the ones that are the most important to the community, the most threatened, or the ones for which you have the best chance of influencing their status.



• Why did you choose these natural, social, and economic features?  For example, are they threatened by current or proposed activities, in poor condition, particularly vulnerable, rare, legally protected, or have particular social or religious importance?  Are there any time limits to your ability to preserve or improve these features? For example, are there plans to develop a rare habitat?



• What staff time and computing and financial resources do you have available for using tools and acquiring training?



• Who would be using the tools?  For example, would it be internal staff or outside consultants and would all tools be used by a central technology center or by a number of partner organizations? What is the scientific and technical background of any staff that you have available?



• What data sets do you have available that could provide input into tools?  Datasets include information about the local community (including community composition and economic status) and terrestrial and marine ecosystems and species.



• Are there local experts available who could serve as community and scientific consultants on the project, including validating data sets and providing expertise where no data sets are available?



• Stakeholders include anyone who will be influence, be affected by, or be carrying out management actions.  Who are the major stakeholders in your EBM project and what is their role or interest?  Are the government and community organizations that make and enforce land use and natural resource management decisions currently involved in your project?  If so, are they mandated to be there or there out of interest?  If not, do you know why they are not participating?  Is there an existing structure for involving other stakeholder groups such as local residents in making management decisions?



• What is your sense of how stakeholder groups will react to using technology tools for analyses?  For example, do you anticipate that they will be receptive or apprehensive of using tools at first?  Will they want to participate in actually using technology tools?  Will there be problems communicating with some stakeholder groups because of language or cultural differences or physical isolation?



• How do you envision analyses or results from EBM tools being used in the management process?  Do you have specific tasks for which you know that you want tools?  Is your primary interest in using tools to generate defensible analyses for decision making for a specific project or incorporating them into your longer term management process?



• What is your timeframe for getting started using tools and generating analyses or results?  Do you have a specific deadline that you need to meet or a limited duration of funding?