Survey of Center Partners

OMB Control No.: 0648-xxxx
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx
Survey of Center Partners
Evaluation of the NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship Program
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Coastal Services Center (Center)
GEARS, Inc.

Thank you for agreeing to take part in this survey of Center partners as part of the evaluation of
the NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship Program. Your answers to the following questions
will help us improve our understanding of the effectiveness of the fellowship program and how it
impacts state coastal zone management programs and the professional goals of fellows. We are
interested in your honest opinions, both positive and negative.
This survey will take approximately 25 minutes to complete. Your participation is completely
voluntary and you may withdraw from the survey or refuse to answer any question at any time.
There are no negative consequences should you decide not to participate in the survey. Only
GEARS evaluation staff associated with this evaluation will have access to identifying
information. Your survey will be combined with other surveys and only aggregate information
will be reported in findings. Your responses will be held in the strictest confidence. All survey
data will be kept in a secure location at GEARS and will be protected by GEARS to the extent
allowed by the law. If you have any questions about the evaluation study, you can contact the
lead evaluator, Dr. Deborah Brome, by telephone at 866-858-1261.

Experience with the Coastal Management Fellowship Program
Please answer the following questions about your experiences with the fellowship program.

1. What is your office’s involvement with the Coastal Management Fellowship Program?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

2. Does your organization have direct contact (e.g., face to face interactions, email, and
telephone conversations) with fellows once they are placed within state coastal zone
management programs?
___Yes ___No

3. Does your organization have direct contact (e.g., face to face interactions, email, and
telephone conversations) with state coastal zone management program fellowship mentors or
programs?

___Yes

___No

___Yes

___No

___Yes

___No

___Yes

___No

4. Overall, are you satisfied with the state projects selected?

5. Overall, are you satisfied with the finalists selected?

6. Do you read Fellow News?

If you read Fellows News, what do you find is the most appealing aspect?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
7. Do you use the Coastal Management Fellowship Program’s web site?
___Yes
If yes, can you easily find the information you are looking for?

___Yes

___No
___No

What type of information do you seek most often?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
What topics or items currently not included on the website would you find useful to have?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation designed by GEARS Inc.
Page 1 of 5
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Ratings of Fellow and State Proposal Selection Process
Using the following rating scale, please indicate your level of satisfaction with the following
aspects of the fellowship.

1= Very Dissatisfied
2= Dissatisfied
3= Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied
4= Satisfied
5= Very Satisfied
0= Don’t Know

Level of Satisfaction
Steps (i.e., process and timeline)
for selecting state proposals

1

2

3

4

5

0

Criteria (i.e., rating categories and
scoring system) used to evaluate
state proposals

1

2

3

4

5

0

Steps (i.e., process and timeline)
for selecting 12 finalists from
applicant pool

1

2

3

4

5

0

Criteria (i.e., rating categories and
scoring system) used to select the
finalists

1

2

3

4

5

0

Matching workshop as way to
select fellows from finalist pool

1

2

3

4

5

0

Amount of contact fellows have
with partners

1

2

3

4

5

0

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation designed by GEARS Inc.
Page 2 of 5
www.getingears.com

Your Opinions about the Fellowship
Please provide your opinions, perspectives, and views for the following questions.
1. Overall, how would you rate the quality of the Coastal Management Fellowship Program?
(Circle the number that best reflects your answer.)
1-------------------2-------------------3-------------------4--------------------5
Poor
Excellent

0
Don’t Know

2. What can be done to ensure that there is a good fit between the fellow’s interests/expertise
and the state’s needs?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. What are the strengths of the Coastal Management Fellowship Program?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
4. What are the weaknesses of the Coastal Management Fellowship Program?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
5. How does the Coastal Management Fellowship Program benefit you as a partner?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation designed by GEARS Inc.
Page 3 of 5
www.getingears.com

6. What suggestions do you have for improving the Coastal Management Fellowship Program?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
7. Do you have any suggestions for improving the state selection process and selection criteria?
___Yes ___No
Please describe.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
8. Do you have any suggestions for improving the fellow selection process and finalist selection
criteria?
___Yes ___No
Please describe.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Thank you very much for your cooperation!
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 25 minutes per
response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering
and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.
Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other suggestions for reducing this burden
to Tom Fish, NOAA National Ocean Service, at 843-740-1271.
Respondents are not identified on their questionnaires, and any reports will present data in
aggregate form only. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the law, no person is required to
respond to, nor shall any person be subjected to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection
of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection
of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation designed by GEARS Inc.
Page 4 of 5
www.getingears.com