WAP-5C (7/16/04 version)
Watershed Action Planning And Implementation: Targets, Community-Led NPS Planning

State of Ohio NPS Vision, Watershed Action Planning and Implementation

Proposed Targets, Community-led Planning

Goal: Community-led planning uses an open and flexible network of partners. Key characteristics include diverse stakeholder support and effective linkages to other community efforts.

Community-led: Stakeholders in a watershed community share leadership, collaborate and determine how, when and where to move forward with programs, project or issues based on science and local values.

2005-2010 Targets

Target 1: By 2006, identify and analyze baseline community-led conditions;

Baseline: A sub-set of existing documentation was analyzed, such as conditionally endorsed watershed action plans, associated review comments, and functional review (PDF 64kb) reports to establish a baseline. Preliminary findings - pre-endorsement summary (PDF 77kb) and endorsement summary (PDF 115kb) - are summarized. However, data analyzed to date does not provide sufficient information to establish a baseline and/or recommend methods for measuring the desired community-led indicators.

Target 2: By 2007, identify indicators and process to quantitatively measure effectiveness of stakeholder involvement and ownership, group decision-making, and group process;

Baseline: During the development of the NPS Plan, there was extensive discussion about what indicators, or measures, should be used to characterize the community-led component of effective watershed action planning. It is agreed that there is a need for indicators that quantitatively measure:

  • Involvement and ownership of multiple stakeholders from the community;
  • methods (e.g. consensus building, appreciative inquiry, etc.) and effectiveness of group decision-making; and
  • group process effectiveness.

Ultimately, some draft indicator options were proposed:

  • Number of plans completed with key stakeholder involvement and ownership using established decision-making models;
  • Number of local watershed groups that regularly audit their group process effectiveness (pdf 206kb) to diagnose strengths and weaknesses in terms of participation, data-based and goal-centered process, credibility, legitimacy and efficiency of decisions, process adaptability, and accountability.

Target 3: By 2009, implement measurement process, report results, and recommend state-wide community-led planning targets.