CoAKTinG: Collaborative Advanced Knowledge Technologies in the Grid

Grid infrastructures coupled with semantic web linkage and reasoning open up intriguing new possibilities for scientific collaboration. In this short paper, we outline the research agenda and collaboration technologies under development within the CoAKTinG project: Collaborative Advanced Knowledge Technologies in the Grid. CoAKTinG will provide tools to assist scientific collaboration by integrating intelligent meeting spaces, ontologically annotated media streams from online meetings, decision rationale and group memory capture, meeting facilitation, issue handling, planning and coordination support, constraint satisfaction, and instant messaging/presence. Their integration is illustrated through an extended use scenario

Community Energy on the Road to Reconciliation: Understanding the key components of Community Energy Planning Tools for Indigenous communities

Community energy planning is becoming a common tool for ensuring communities are meeting their energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions targets. Community energy planning is the process of developing an energy and emissions baseline, engaging the community to create a community energy vision, and implementing a plan to achieve short-, medium-, and long-term goals for energy efficiency and renewable energy development. While there are various reasons a community may choose to develop a Community Energy Plan (CEP), Indigenous communities have been using community energy planning as a tool to gain political autonomy, advance self-determination, develop capacity in renewable energy projects, and ensure Indigenous ownership and control of renewable energy projects. A number of tools and resources can assist in developing a CEP, but none address the specific needs and goals of Indigenous communities interested in community energy planning. This research project included a document analysis of published CEPs, CEP tools and resources, as well as CEP policies and funding programs. The research project also involved semi-structured interviews with public officials working in community energy planning with Indigenous communities. These two methods were used to develop criteria for assessing community energy planning tools, resources, and policies for Indigenous communities. The research concluded that meaningful and accessible community energy planning tools for Indigenous communities must balance technical and social considerations, be action-oriented, balance visionary versus pragmatic elements, be economical to conduct, and be simple with options to add complexity as required. The outcomes support the development of community energy planning tools, resources, and policies for meaningful and accessible CEP toolkits that assist Indigenous communities in reaching their social, economic, and renewable energy goals

Decision support system for the long-term city metabolism planning problem

A Decision Support System (DSS) tool for the assessment of intervention strategies (Alternatives) in an Urban Water System (UWS) with an integral simulation model called “WaterMet²” is presented. The DSS permits the user to identify one or more optimal Alternatives over a fixed long-term planning horizon using performance metrics mapped to the TRUST sustainability criteria (Alegre et al., 2012). The DSS exposes lists of in-built intervention options and system performance metrics for the user to compose new Alternatives. The quantitative metrics are calculated by the WaterMet² model and further qualitative or user-defined metrics may be specified by the user or by external tools feeding into the DSS. A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach is employed within the DSS to compare the defined Alternatives and to rank them with respect to a pre-specified weighting scheme for different Scenarios. Two rich, interactive Graphical User Interfaces, one desktop and one web-based, are employed to assist with guiding the end user through the stages of defining the problem, evaluating and ranking Alternatives. This mechanism provides a useful tool for decision makers to compare different strategies for the planning of UWS with respect to multiple Scenarios. The efficacy of the DSS is demonstrated on a northern European case study inspired by a real-life urban water system for a mixture of quantitative and qualitative criteria. The results demonstrate how the DSS, integrated with an UWS modelling approach, can be used to assist planners in meeting their long-term, strategic level sustainability objectives

Casco Bay Workshop on Land Trusts and Climate Change Adaptation

The workshop on land trusts and climate change adaptation was hosted by the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership (CBEP) for the Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) Program on November 18, 2010, in Portland, Maine. Fourteen participants convened for this workshop, along with CBEP and ICF staff. Workshop participants represented land trusts from several different areas in Maine, as well as regional organizations such as Beginning with Habitat, Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, Maine Geological Survey, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, and the Maine Land Trust Network. Land trusts present at the workshop included Portland Trails (Land Trust for Portland), Portland North Land Trust Collaborative, Western Foothills Land Trust, Loon Echo Land Trust, Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, and Brunswick Topsham Land Trust. The workshop objectives included (1) examine the potential impacts of climate change on land trusts; (2) foster discussion that will assist land trusts in incorporating climate change considerations into the planning process; and (3) gather information from the meeting to support a report to the wider Maine land trust community with findings on climate adaptation issues of concern to land trusts, information needs to support land trust climate adaptation planning, and tools to support planning efforts (flow charts, critical questions, ecological goals). These objectives focused discussions during the workshop

Decision Support System for the Long-Term City Metabolism Planning Problem

AcceptedArticleA Decision Support System (DSS) tool for the assessment of intervention strategies (Alternatives) in an Urban Water System (UWS) with an integral simulation model called “WaterMet2” is presented. The DSS permits the user to identify one or more optimal Alternatives over a fixed long-term planning horizon using performance metrics mapped to the TRUST sustainability criteria (Alegre et al., 2012). The DSS exposes lists of in-built intervention options and system performance metrics for the user to compose new Alternatives. The quantitative metrics are calculated by the WaterMet2 model and further qualitative or user-defined metrics may be specified by the user or by external tools feeding into the DSS. A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach is employed within the DSS to compare the defined Alternatives and to rank them with respect to a pre-specified weighting scheme for different Scenarios. Two rich, interactive Graphical User Interfaces, one desktop and one web-based, are employed to assist with guiding the end user through the stages of defining the problem, evaluating and ranking Alternatives. This mechanism provides a useful tool for decision makers to compare different strategies for the planning of UWS with respect to multiple Scenarios. The efficacy of the DSS is demonstrated on a northern European case study inspired by a real-life urban water system for a mixture of quantitative and qualitative criteria. The results demonstrate how the DSS, integrated with an UWS modelling approach, can be used to assist planners in meeting their long-term, strategic level sustainability objectives.EU 7th Framework Programm

Integrated Land, Water and Forest Management at Landscape Level

The report, presented by Elias Fereres of the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and University of Cordoba, Spain, covers the issue of integrated natural resource management (INRM) and discusses the complexity of managing natural resources at the landscape level. Technological packages such as simulation models, decision support systems and tools for spatial characterization and analysis are introduced together with an adaptive management framework. The importance of achieving dynamic management processes is discussed in the context of the need to sustain high productivity in agriculture without depleting the available water and soil resources. Tools for monitoring and surveillance of soil degradation are available for use at different scales and can assist with decision making and choice of soil management techniques. Soil conservation approaches are discussed with reference to a specific case in organic olive oil production. The challenge of incorporating both the biophysical and social dimensions in research on forest, land and water management is also discussed. Recent advances in irrigation management highlight the challenge of scaling up activities and moving from planning to the management of natural resources at the landscape level. This report was discussed at the Stakeholder Meeting at AGM2005

On-Line Resource Clearinghouse for Rapidly Growing Communities

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, sprawl is among the biggest environmental challenges facing New England, where more than 1,200 acres of open space are lost to development each week. New Hampshire is the fastest growing state in New England, and much of this growth is located within the 42 community coastal watershed served by the New Hampshire Estuaries Project. The Resource Clearinghouse for Rapidly Growing Communities project was created out of an interest in getting community decision makers the information and access to resources that they need to make informed decisions in this challenging time. The clearinghouse is designed to assist efforts to implement smart growth and other strategies to reduce growth impacts on the environment and quality of life. This project resulted from the 2003 Voices of Communities Experiencing Rapid Change Symposium held at the University of New Hampshire.A searchable database, or “resource clearinghouse,” focused on the top ten issues of rapidly growing communities in New Hampshire now exists on-line through a web interface at clearinghouse.unh.edu. This site is easy to use and offers users quick access to a variety of valuable information, including 1) mission and services, contact information, and website links for organizations and agencies that can assist communities with these issues, 2) direct access to ordering information or links to the text of publications and other tools (such as CD-ROMs, other clearinghouses, seminars, etc.), 3) background and contact information for experts on the top ten issues, including University of New Hampshire faculty, and 4) stories from communities that have implemented growth management or smart growth strategies, including process and outcome. This project was made possible through a partnership between the UNH Center for Integrative Regional Problem Solving and Cooperative Extension, in collaboration with the Nashua Regional Planning Commission, the Rockingham Planning Commission, New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning, Concord 20/20, GrowSmart Maine, the Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, the UNH Library, and other departments and programs of the University of New Hampshire. We thank the New Hampshire Estuaries Project for their generous support of this project

Rebuild Iowa Office Quarterly Performance Report 3rd Quarter, April 2009

As the anniversaries of 2008 tornado’s and floods approach, the Rebuild Iowa Office vision of a safer, stronger and smarter Iowa is coming into sharper focus. While much more remains to be done, hundreds of displaced Iowans and businesses are on the road to recovery and the building blocks for communities coming together. While recovery is a marathon and not a sprint, the work done so far couldn’t have been accomplished without an extensive recovery planning effort and an unprecedented level of cooperation among local, state and federal governments, private citizens, businesses and non-profit organizations, there is a rebirth and recovery underway in Iowa

Supported and Customized Employment

[Excerpt] Supported employment has been a service option for a long time and is responsible for many individuals working who were previously considered unemployable. It is characterized by competitive employment in community businesses with training and support provided by a skilled job coach for as long as the individual is employed. Supported employment is for those individuals who need help finding a job, intensive support to learn the job, and on-going follow-along support in order to keep their job. It is based on the premise that individuals do no have to “get ready” for work but rather receive the necessary supports that bridge the gap between their skills and the job requirements once they are employed. Job coach assistance is provided more intensely at first followed by intermittent on-going support once that individual is able to complete the job. Examples of some of the supports that may help someone perform their job are: advocacy, natural supports, assistive technology, job modifications, job carving, rehabilitation engineering, compensatory strategies, and behavioral training techniques