[Editors] FW: Work opportunity ($) for web developer

[Krisztina Holly]

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Brandenburg [mailto:peteb at MIT.EDU] 
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 3:50 PM
To: duspstu at mit.edu
Subject: Work opportunity ($) for web developer


Hello,

We are in search of a tech-savvy person in the MIT community who is 
looking to put their skills to work for financial compensation. Please 
circulate the info below to anyone who might be interested and contact 
me (peteb at mit.edu) or Lindsay Campbell (lkc at mit.edu) with any questions.

-- 

Peter Brandenburg
Master of City Planning Candidate
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Environmental Policy Group / MIT-USGS Science Impact Collaborative
781-910-6788 peteb at mit.edu http://scienceimpact.mit.edu 


-----------------------------------------------
To: Interested Web Developers
From: MIT-USGS Science Impact Collaborative
Herman Karl (hkarl at usgs.gov)
Lindsay Campbell (lkc at mit.edu)
Re: MUSIC Inventory Database Needs
Date: 28 March 2005

Project Overview
The MIT-USGS Science Impact Collaborative is preparing an inventory of 
case studies where joint fact-finding (JFF) and other collaborative 
strategies have been employed in science-intensive environmental 
decision-making processes. The inventory represents a significant 
project for the four MUSIC interns and advisors during the Spring 2005 
academic semester. JFF is a tool, generally used as a component of a 
larger collaborative process, for handling and creating agreements on 
the technical information surrounding controversial environmental policy 
decisions. A summary of JFF cases - tangible examples from the field - 
will serve as a complement to prior work by MIT and the Consensus 
Building Institute (CBI) on collaborative process and by MUSIC on the 
theory and framework of JFF. The cases will be categorized based on the 
discrete points on the JFF Spectrum of Strategies for Incorporating 
Science into Collaborative Decision Making (see attached). This 
inventory project is in keeping with USGS and DOI's request to 
understand the range of JFF actions currently undertaken and how JFF 
might then be more integrated into action.

The inventory of cases will be compiled into a database to communicate 
and manage the information. The database offers a potential incentive 
for agencies to interact with MUSIC by providing a concrete resource to 
help build greater understanding of the role of collaboration in 
decision-making. It also allows for a rapid turnaround of collected 
survey information, rather than waiting until the end of the project and 
the completion of a written report. The Spectrum and other 
MUSIC-generated materials will be enhanced by the inclusion of selected 
case studies from the inventory. Together, these tools will strengthen 
DOI and USGS presentations and instruction and provide a valuable mix of 
theory and application.

A web-based tool supported by the database will serve as a means to 
connect the spectrum to real cases of collaborative process, adding an 
illustrative dimension to the scope of possible JFF work. The web tool 
will allow a user to click on points along the spectrum drawing up 
increasingly detailed information, linked to case study content, on the 
different JFF practices. The tool should also be searchable by a number 
of drop-down lists (e.g., lead agency; geographic area, etc). The web 
tool can be made accessible to DOI employees and the public at all 
times, reaching a broader audience than solely those participating in 
formal training on JFF.

Database Content
The content of the database will come directly from the results of the 
inventory survey as processed by MIT's form processing CGI (see below). 
The survey involves both open (narrative) questions and closed 
(selection) questions. A draft of the questionnaire is attached, and 
will be finalized by the time of database-design.

Specific Web Site Needs
The website designer will design a following system with the following 
capabilities:
. Ability for MUSIC interns to upload and modify the site from any 
location (with password protection) that can be set either to be 
internal (work in progress) or visible online; information within fields 
should always be updatable/changeable
. Display of each collaborative project on its own "project page", akin 
to the following example from a USDA Forest Service Living Memorials 
Project: 
http://www.livingmemorialsproject.net/inventory/inventory-db.asp?myID=632004
95316AM_3483
. Ability for users to search information online by 2-3 drop down lists 
(to be determined upon finalization of the questionnaire, but likely to 
include agency and geographic area), see the USFS example:
http://www.livingmemorialsproject.net/mem_projects/default.asp
. Ability for users to navigate to cases through a graphic interface 
that reflects the updated Spectrum tool (see attached), meaning that 
users can click on a strategy and be taken to a project page that 
illustrates that strategy
. Write MIT forms for collecting surveys (e.g. 
http://web.mit.edu/surveys/quickstart/cgiemail.html). Data to be 
formatted for easy incorporation into Excel, Access and HTML templates. .
Ability for MUSIC interns to receive occasional downloads of the 
entire surevey database (say in Microsoft Excel or Access format), for 
analysis
. The site must fit into the visual schema and page structure already 
developed in the MUSIC website: http://web.mit.edu/dusp/epg/music/. 
Specifically, we would like for the site to borrow the templates used in 
the MUSIC site albeit with new graphics.