Abstract
Decision-makers who have little to no formal training in atmospheric science are increasingly accessing and interpreting climate data and information within planning contexts. Many climate decision support tools (DSTs) have been developed to support decision-making across a variety of sectors and scales, but evaluation of such tools has only recently begun to take place. This study conducted a summative evaluation of the utility of a decision-maker-driven climate hazard assessment tool, the Simple Planning Tool (SPT), a climate DST. The SPT was inspired by and codeveloped with emergency managers, planners, and a boundary organization in two south-central U.S. states. The SPT’s target audience was surveyed to assess the tool’s utility, including its saliency, credibility, trustworthiness, and reasons for and impact of information use on decision-making. A high utility was found despite a relatively limited user base at the time of the study. In addition, SPT users represented a range of jurisdictional sizes, geographical scales, and years of experience. Although the small user sample limits generalizability of the study, it is likely a realistic reflection of the number of emergency managers and planners in the two states who are actively and regularly incorporating climate hazards into planning. The data also indicate that climate boundary organizations and climate service providers should work toward utilizing trusted information sources, channels, and procedures within the sectors to which their tool applies to help increase decision-maker awareness and use of their tool.
Significance Statement
A Simple Planning Tool (SPT) for Oklahoma and Arkansas climate hazards was developed in response to needs identified by planners and emergency managers in two states. This study evaluated the usefulness and impact of the SPT about one year after it became available and adds to the limited body of literature on climate decision support tool evaluation. The evaluation showed that that tool was useful and informed plans, but for a limited user base. Climate decision support tool communicators can help raise awareness of their tool(s) by utilizing existing decision-maker trusted information channels. They should also recognize that the full impact of their tool may not be known for several years, especially within the context of long-range planning.
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