The USGS and UNM established SILPE to conduct basic and applied research regarding the application of natural science information to ecological, environmental and socioeconomic issues and problems. SILPE is housed at the UNM and is a partner to the USGS SI program. SILPE will be used primarily for UNM and USGS research and education purposes. Participation in SILPE may be made available to outside scientists from the national and international community.
The UNM SILPE is directed and managed by David Brookshire (full-time faculty, Department of Economics) and coordinated with the Science Impact Program. The USGS representative coordinates research activities with the UNM SILPE Director on a regular basis. The USGS also participates in the coordination of activities conducted with other cooperating universities.
The overarching goals of the UNM Science Impact Laboratory for Policy and Economics (SILPE) are:
1. To develop improved methods, using a collaborative team approach, to integrate earth and biological sciences information into a policy framework: Current pressures for balanced land management and concerns about the availability of water have been identified as critical public policy issues in the West. These issues require the integration of the natural and social science information and models with behavioral economic models to understand regional land-use development and growth problems that have evolved over space and time. An essential element of the integration will include stakeholder involvement. Interdisciplinary research and information requires specialized science information as well as the ability to adapt natural science information to a decision-oriented framework to be useful for both policy analysis and decision-making. Activities required for analyses of public policy and environmental policy issues include:
(a) Develop new methods, tools, processes, and products for integrating, using and analyzing USGS science and other information in a GIS environment, and
(b) Develop methods to link space/time natural science and economic data in a regional setting to evaluate natural resource and environmental policy issues.2. To determine economic values for natural science information in a framework that contributes to and affects public policy: To identify the value-in-use of natural science information as applied to societal issues, research must be conducted on multiple topics. Development of new products must be based on the needs of consumers and cooperators. In order to determine what the value of natural science information is in a framework that affects a public policy, SILPE will identify an issue and evaluate the following questions:
(a) How does natural science information have an impact on a policy decision? (b) Can the information be characterized quantitatively or is it strictly qualitative?
(c) How can this impact be evaluated quantitatively?
(d) How can the information be fully integrated into a GIS environment?
(e) How do we assess the accuracy and appropriateness of derived products to answer the user's need?
