Development Group Survey fir the third National Climate Assessment (NCA3)

Instrument

EMAIL INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN SURVEY:

TO: NCA3 Developers

SUBJECT LINE: Invitation to Participate in the NCA3 Development Group Survey

Dear NCA3 Developer,

As part of NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Climate Assessment activities, Dantzker Consulting, LLC, has been contracted by North Carolina State University’s Institute for Climate Studies (NCICS/CICS-NC) to conduct a third-party, external evaluation of the Third National Climate Assessment Processes and Products. The purpose of this evaluation is to inform the NCA4 process, as well as the NCA sustained assessment. New Knowledge Organization Ltd., in collaboration with Dantzker Consulting, LLC, is administering this survey to all NCA3 developers as part of this effort.

Your input is valuable to the development of future National Climate Assessments.

We expect this survey to take no more than 10-15 minutes of your time.

Voluntary Nature of Survey, Consent, and Research Contact Information: Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary. Your responses to survey questions are anonymous. Therefore, the risks associated with your participation are minimal. You can choose not to respond to any questions you do not wish to answer. Only completely de-identified data will be made available to NCICS/CICS-NC. If you have any questions regarding the rights of participants, you may contact Solutions IRB at reviews@solutionsirb.com, 855-226-4472 and reference IRB ID# 2016/04/20. If you have questions about the survey, please contact Dr. Rupu Gupta at New Knowledge Organization Ltd. by phone 347-766-3399 or by email at rgupta@newknowledge.org. You may also contact Dr. Heather Dantzker, Project Director, at 607-592-6040 or heather@dantzker.com.

To access the survey, please go to: <developers survey URL>.

Sincerely,

Rupu Gupta, Ph.D., Co-PI Heather Dantzker, Ph.D., Project Director

New Knowledge Organization Ltd. Dantzker Consulting, LLC

Welcome page

OMB Control No. 0648-0342

Expiration Date: 5/31/2018

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 10-15 minutes per participant, 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 Janice Mills, CICS-NC, 151 Patton Ave., Asheville, NC 28801.

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.

Voluntary Nature of Survey, Consent, and Research Contact Information: Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary. Your responses to survey questions are anonymous. Therefore, the risks associated with your participation are minimal. You can choose not to respond to any questions you do not wish to answer. Only completely de-identified data will be made available to NCICS/CICS-NC. If you have any questions regarding the rights of participants, you may contact Solutions IRB at reviews@solutionsirb.com, 855-226-4472 and reference IRB ID# 2016/04/20. If you have questions about the survey, please contact Dr. Rupu Gupta at New Knowledge Organization Ltd. by phone 347-766-3399 or by email at rgupta@newknowledge.org. You may also contact Dr. Heather Dantzker, Project Director, at 607-592-6040 or heather@dantzker.com.

Thank you for choosing to participate in the NCA3 Development Group Survey!

[START SURVEY BUTTON]

YOUR BACKGROUND AND ROLE AS AN NCA3 DEVELOPER

1. Which of the following best describe the area(s) of your disciplinary expertise? (check up to THREE)

• Agriculture

• Atmospheric Sciences

• Biogeochemistry

• Business Management

• Decision Science

• Economics

• Ecosystems/Ecosystem Services

• Energy

• Engineering

• Forestry

• Human Health

• Public Policy

• Transportation

• Urban Systems

• Water Resources

• Other: _________________

2. Which one sector best describes your PRIMARY affiliation during the time you served as an NCA3 developer?

• Federal Government

• Temporary Federal Government Assignment

• State, Local, or Regional Government

• Tribal

• University

• Business - For Profit/Industry

• Not-For-Profit Organization

• Non-U.S. Entity

• Other: __________________________

3. Prior to NCA3, had you previously served as a developer on either the first or second National Climate Assessment reports?

   1. YES

   2. NO

4. Please indicate your level of engagement in your role(s) as an NCA3 Developer.

NCA3 Development Group Roles	High engagement	Medium engagement	Low engagement	I did not serve in this role
NCADAC, Committee Member				
NCADAC, Ex Officio Member				
NCADAC, Executive Secretariat				
Convening Lead Author				
Lead Author				
Contributing Author				
NCA Staff: USGCRP				
NCA Staff: Technical Support Unit				
Federal Executive Team				
Interagency NCA Working Group				
Subcommittee on Global Change Research				
Review Editor				

5. In which state or territory were you located during the NCA3 development process? [dropdown menu]

THE NCA3 DEVELOPMENT GROUP

6. Thinking about the formation and make-up of the NCA3 Development Group overall, please rate your level of agreement with the following statements.

	1 Strongly Disagree	2 Disagree	3 Neither Agree nor Disagree	4 Agree	5 Strongly Agree	I Don’t Know
The process by which Federal Advisory Committee (NCADAC) members were selected was appropriate.						
The process by which convening lead authors were selected was appropriate.						
The process by which author teams were selected was appropriate.						
The process by which review editors were selected was appropriate.						
The NCA3 Development Group was sufficiently inclusive across sectors (e.g., federal, private, NGO, etc.) involved.						
The NCA3 Development Group was sufficiently inclusive across disciplinary expertise.						
The NCA3 Development Group was sufficiently inclusive across geographic regions of the US.						
The NCA3 Development Group was sufficiently inclusive across types of NCA users.						

7. Did your role as an NCA3 developer include any of the following: Convening Lead Author, Lead Author, or Contributing Author?

• Yes

• No

THE NCA3 DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: INPUTS AND RESOURCES

8. For the following NCA3 development inputs and resources, please indicate the degree of TIMELINESS with which these inputs and resources were made available to you for your NCA3 work.

	1 Not at all Timely	2	3	4	5 Very timely	Not Applicable
Regional Climatologies						
Climate Scenarios						
Guidance on Risk Framing, Confidence, and Uncertainty						
Regional Technical Inputs						
Sectoral Technical Inputs						
Methodology & Process Workshops						
Author Team Meetings						
Town Hall Meetings						
NCA Staff Support - USGCRP						
NCA Technical Support Unit						

9. For the following NCA3 development inputs and resources, please indicate how ADEQUATE (in terms of quality and/or desired content) these inputs and resources were for your NCA3 work.

	1 Very Inadequate	2	3	4	5 Very Adequate	Not Applicable
Regional Climatologies						
Climate Scenarios						
Guidance on Risk Framing, Confidence, and Uncertainty						
Regional Technical Inputs						
Sectoral Technical Inputs						
Methodology & Process Workshops						
Author Team Meetings						
Town Hall Meetings						
NCA Staff Support - USGCRP						
NCA Technical Support Unit						

10. For the following NCA3 development inputs and resources, please indicate how USEFUL each of these inputs and resources was for you for your NCA3 work.

	1 Not at all Useful	2	3	4	5 Very Useful	Not Applicable
Regional Climatologies						
Climate Scenarios						
Guidance on Risk Framing, Confidence, and Uncertainty						
Regional Technical Inputs						
Sectoral Technical Inputs						
Methodology & Process Workshops						
Author Team Meetings						
Town Hall Meetings						
NCA Staff Support - USGCRP						
NCA Technical Support Unit						

THE NCA3 DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: WRITING & REVIEW

11. Thinking about the NCA3 writing and review processes, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.

	1 Strongly Disagree	2	3	4	5 Strongly Agree
WRITING: The NCA3 Developers I worked with had a shared understanding of the audience for the NCA3 report.					
WRITING: The chapters of the NCA3 report reflect a robust diversity of knowledge sources.					
WRITING: The development of traceable accounts should remain a requirement for future NCA products.					
REVIEW: Unanticipated rounds of review resulted in a much greater time commitment for my work on NCA3 than I anticipated.					
REVIEW: The NCA3 review process was sufficiently responsive to public comments.					
REVIEW: The NCA3 review process improved the overall quality of the report.					

THE NCA3 DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: communication & GROUP DYNAMICS

12. Thinking about the communication and group dynamics you experienced during development of the NCA3, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.

	1 Strongly Disagree	2	3	4	5 Strongly Agree
COMMUNICATION: The NCA3 development process and timeline was clearly communicated at the beginning.					
COMMUNICATION: When the NCA3 process timeline was updated, notification was provided to me in a timely manner.					
COMMUNICATION: I would have liked more opportunity for contact with other NCA3 developers beyond those I worked with directly.					
CONFLICT/CONTROVERSY: Conflict and controversy were adequately handled in the NCA3 development process.					
POWER BALANCE: Power was appropriately balanced between the different categories of NCA3 developers.					

YOUR Engagement in the NCA3 DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

13. Please rank in order of importance your top three reasons for joining the NCA3 development effort, with 1 indicating your most important reason for participating.

• To contribute to an important cause

• To expand my professional network

• To further my scholarship in climate change

• To fulfill my role in my organization

• To increase awareness of climate change issues in my organization

• To raise the profile of my organization’s work in climate change issues

• To apply my expertise where it was needed

• To fulfill expectations of my colleagues

• To learn more about more about climate change in the U.S.

• Other (Please specify): _____________

14. Completing the statements below about your participation in the NCA3 process, please indicate your level of agreement.

As a result of participating in the development of the NCA3, I have…	1 Strongly Disagree	2	3	4	5 Strongly Agree	Not Applicable
G40 Improved my ability to speak about climate change inside my organization.						
G40 Improved my ability to speak about climate change outside of my organization.						
G39 Helped raise awareness of climate change issues in my own organization.						
G39 Helped raise awareness of climate change issues outside of my organization.						
E16 Developed new skills relevant to my work on climate change.						
E16 Expanded my professional network.						
G41 Developed new professional partnerships or institutional collaborations.						
G41 Advanced my career.						
G39 Improved my own understanding of climate science.						
G39 Changed my views on climate change in one or more ways.						

YOUR USE OF THE NCA3 REPORT
15. Completing the statements below, please indicate which portions of the NCA3 you have used and how often you have used them in your work since the NCA3 was released in June 2014.

	Never	Less than once a year	Several times a year	2 to 4 times a month	Several times a week	Daily or almost daily
NCA3 full report						
Highlights information						
Overview information						
Our Changing Climate information						
Sectoral information						
Regional information						
Response Strategies information						
Appendix – Climate Science Supplement information						
Graphics						
Metadata						

UTILITY AND OUTCOMES OF THE NCA3

16. Completing the statements below about the utility of the NCA3 report, please indicate your level of agreement.

I believe the NCA3 report…	1 Strongly Disagree	2	3	4	5 Strongly Agree	I don’t know
G35 Is helping inform climate science, data, and/or research priorities in my organization.						
G34 Has helped my organization better serve its stakeholders in climate change related matters.						
G33 Provides appropriate types of information for decision makers.						
G15 Provides useful regional information for decision makers.						
G33 Could have been more tailored to the needs of decision makers.						
G33 Has improved the usability of science to inform decisions.						
G15 Provides useful sectoral information for decision makers.						
G33 Provides an accurate scientific basis for climate change-related decision making.						

17. Have you shared the NCA3 report with others?

• Yes

[If answered yes] With whom (individuals or organizations) have you shared the report? ________________________________________________________________________

• No

18. Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your role as a developer or user of the NCA3 report?

Thank you for participating in this survey! We greatly appreciate your feedback.

Your input will help inform and improve future National Climate Assessments.