Glossary

Applicability to NAP Planning

A final over-arching assessment of the value of the tool/model/framework to regional NAP planning. This assessment was done using the assessments for the major criteria above as inputs, equally weighted. This overarching assessment is best considered as a summary guide to the overall value of the item for nap planning.

Availability of Skills:

An assessment of the availability of the human resources or skills and time available for application to NAP planning within a reasonable timeframe. As well as a consideration of the human resources now, this also considers the ability to train and deploy additional skills with the NAP timeframe.

Commitment to NAP:

An assessment of existing commitments to use the tool/model/framework for NAP planning. These commitments may have occurred as a part of government policy or through bi-lateral arrangements made between tool/model/framework operators and the managers of catchment planning.

Data Availability:

Data availability to allow the model/tool to fulfil its functions. This required a critical appraisal of the availability of temporal and spatial data sets. Where the model and associated data sets are region-specific, this was noted.

Empirical and Scientific Testing:

An assessment of the level of scientific and or empirical evaluation. This could include evidence that the tool/model/framework has been peer reviewed, or is based on sound empirical investigation or that its predictions have validated against actual data.

Evidence of Application:

Assessment of the level of application in environments that are relevant to region/community needs for NAP-scale planning. Based on information provided by the person/persons interviewed, or general knowledge about the application of the tool/model/framework in Australian settings.

Level of Confidence:

A subjective assessment of the level of confidence that the model/tool/framework reflects key and relevant processes. This assessment relied in part on verification/validation through peer review and also on an understanding of the level of irreducible or inherent uncertainty in the parameters being estimated or predicted.

Logical Flows:

An assessment of the 'place' of the tool/model/framework in the logical flow of the planning process. This can also be assessed as the degree to which its output can be value-added elsewhere in the planning process.

Major Criteria :

Where the assessment was straightforward, the major criteria were scored as 'high', 'medium' or 'low'. Where there was some ambiguity in the assessment, or the item being assessed did not quite align with a particular criterion, brief words of qualification have been included.

NAP Regions:

Transparency and Credibility:

An assessment of the transparency of the output ('the answer'). Transparency/credibility is demonstrated by the degree to which the output can be easily subjected to rigorous scrutiny either scientifically or by the region/community group involved in using the output.