The potential strengths of platform trials have been elucidated for oncology, infectious diseases, and other settings. In this talk we first present the lessons learned from a sequential platform trial used in the West Africa Ebola virus disease outbreak and how these may translate to the context of oncology research. For example, one shortcoming of the original design was that supplemental information from controls in previous trial segments was not utilized. We address this limitation by proposing an adaptive design methodology that facilitates information sharing within the trial. The design also allows the use of multisource adaptive randomization to target information balance within a trial segment if other segments of data are incorporated. Compared to the standard design, we demonstrate that MEMs with adaptive randomization can improve power with limited type-I error inflation. We conclude by discussing some of the future directions and potential applications of newer methodologies and applications for platform trial designs that both include and extend the lessons learned previously.
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Authors: Michelle Hilleary, Hal Cardwell, Michael Deegan, Igor Linkov, Chris Cummings, Kat McCain
Speakers: Michelle Hilleary & Hal Cardwell (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
Abstract:
Collaboration in water resources management in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has benefited from sustained strategic investment and network nurturing. Recent policy directives to look more comprehensively across categories of benefits are moving the Corps to employ more multi-objective decision making techniques in the tradeoffs analysis step of the Civil Works planning process. Applying collaborative techniques in tradeoffs analyses will facilitate better decision-making and increased realization of benefits in the public sphere.
The Corps’ Institute for Water Resources (IWR) was created in 1969 to analyze and anticipate changing water resources management conditions, and to develop planning methods and analytical tools to address economic, social, institutional, and environmental needs in water resources planning and policy. In 2008, the Collaboration and Public Participation Center (CPCX) was named a Corps Center of Expertise within IWR. CPCX is an authoritative source for senior Corps leaders, government agencies, civilian, and international leaders from related industries to study and confer on the tactical application of water resource management and conflict resolution. CPCX was a response to the growing need for alternative methods of dispute resolution in the management of our nation’s waters. USACE's recognition of the need for collaboration, partnering, and public participation in water resources decision making has been documented in both guidance and strategic plans.
CPCX provides technical assistance to USACE Districts and Divisions on collaborative processes, builds USACE collaborative capacity, publishes reports on environmental conflict resolution and collaborative processes, and manages the USACE’s Collaboration and Public Participation Community of Practice. CPCX’s work is focused on its four goals of capacity building, direct services, policy support, and innovative processes. CPCX improves the outcomes of USACE missions by supporting collaborative processes and ensuring that the interests of partners, stakeholders, and the public are addressed.
In accordance with the 2021 Comprehensive Benefits Memo, Corps study teams are directed to “analyze benefits in total and equally across a full array of benefits categories”. These public benefit categories include economic (national and regional), environmental (national and regional), and other social benefits that are valued by the federal government, non-federal sponsor, public, and interested stakeholders. These “buckets” of public benefits along with the guiding principles from the Principles, Requirements, and Guidelines (PR&G) will help inform evaluation and decision-making for water resources investments. Identifying plans that maximize net total benefits will require comparison in performance among various objectives and criteria. Decision analytic techniques may help provide transparency and clarity to distinguish between input of value preferences and technical information in informing a decision. Stakeholders involved in a planning study will bring their own values and preferences; therefore, using structured tradeoffs methods will be vital to both identify the plan that maximizes net public benefits and provide clarity and transparency on the eventual selection of the recommended plan.
Expanding tools and perspectives to include ecosystem service concepts in Superfund site management decisions
April 17, 2024 10:50am - April 17, 2024 11:05am
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Authors: Leah M. Sharpe, Matthew C. Harwell, Jim Harvey, Tammy Newcomer-Johnson, Gina Ferreira, Stephanie Kim, Bruce Pluta
Speaker: Leah Sharpe (US Environmental Protection Agency)
Abstract:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund program is responsible for the assessment, cleanup, and reuse of some of the most contaminated sites in the United States. The primary goal of Superfund work is to protect human health and the environment and the work itself is regulatorily and legislatively proscribed. While the concept of ecosystem services (ES; i.e., the benefits that humans receive from nature) is not a part of Superfund processes, the EPA identified potential connections between ES concepts and remediation and redevelopment of contaminated sites in 2009 and has been applying those concepts in cleanups for over a decade. In addition to regulatory hurdles, the organizational separation of those developing ES tools and those responsible for managing Superfund sites was another challenge to the incorporation of ES concepts in management actions. An ongoing collaboration between tool developers, modelers, risk assessors, and project managers, co-led by researchers focusing on ES tools and risk assessors focused on contaminated site management, has made meaningful progress in incorporating ES concepts and tools in contaminated site cleanup and reuse. These advances include developing generic guidelines for incorporating ES into ecological risk assessments, identifying the value-added aspects provided by incorporation of ES, developing ES tools in response to manager needs, identifying concrete steps to support Superfund staff in effective incorporation of ES tools into their work processes, and conducting multiple case studies as practical demonstrations of this incorporation. This presentation will discuss how this collaboration works, the co-development of decision tools and frameworks, and how the incorporation of ES concepts impacted outcomes in case study examples.
Structured Decision-Making Framework for Managing Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms in New York State Parks
April 17, 2024 11:05am - April 17, 2024 11:20am
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Authors: Jennifer L. Graham, Gabriella Cebada Mora, Rebecca M. Gorney, Lianne C. Ball, Claudia Mengelt, and Michael C. Runge
Speaker: Jennifer Graham (USGS)
Abstract:
Cyanobacteria increasingly are a global water-quality concern because of the potential for these organisms to develop harmful blooms that affect ecologic, economic, and public health. Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) can lead to a decrease in water quality and may affect the recreational and ecological benefits of parks that include lakes. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) is a state agency charged with the operation of state parks and historic sites. Many New York State parks include lakes or other freshwater bodies, which can be susceptible to CyanoHABs. The OPRHP faces difficult decisions regarding prevention of and response to CyanoHABs. Decision analysis is often used to inform complex decisions regarding natural resource management. Structured decision making (SDM) breaks down complex decisions into their basic parts and reconstructs the problem into a framework that allows for collaborative examination and development of suitable actions. The U.S. Geological Survey partnered with OPRHP and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to develop a SDM template for managing CyanoHABs in OPRHP parks. Two parks, Moreau Lake State Park and Rockland Lake State Park, served as case studies to motivate and test the template. This presentation will describe how the principles of SDM can be used to navigate the challenges associated with managing CyanoHABs using the case studies as examples. Management objectives and strategies for CyanoHABs in OPRHP parks, strategies to evaluate consequences and manage trade-offs, and potential challenges to the implementation of preferred alternatives will be discussed.
Resource allocation for invasive species management on National Wildlife Refuges lands in the Midwestern United States
April 17, 2024 11:20am - April 17, 2024 11:35am
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Authors: Angela Romito & Max Post van der Burg
Speaker: Angela Romito (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
Abstract:
A team comprised of United States Fish & Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System (US FWS NWRS) biologists and refuge managers worked collaboratively to develop a transparent, coordinated process to allocate annual invasive species funding, better leverage relevant resources, and reduce the impact of non-native species, in turn, facilitating achievement of biological integrity, species diversity, and environmental health across the Midwest US FWS NWRS. They constrained their work to reflect refuge capacity for project implementation, variability in station priorities, adherence to funding directives, and relevant law and policy. Five fundamental objectives were identified by the team including, 1) maximizing the condition of refuge species of concern and their associated habitats, 2) project success, 3) efficiency, 4) maximizing the number of refuges that benefit from allocation and, 5) partner and landowner acceptance. To assess how well proposed projects performed relative to these objectives, measurable performance measures (15 total) were identified for each objective. A request for proposal (RFP) system was used to solicit projects from 70 Refuge Complexes and Wetland Management Districts across the Midwest NWRS. To reduce administrative burden, and subjectivity in proposal review, the RFP was designed (via Microsoft Forms) to allow proposal authors to score their projects according to the criteria selected by the model development team. The decision aid was used to produce four project portfolios, along with predictions of their expected conservation benefits, for consideration by regional decision-makers. The optimal portfolio resulted in the most projects funded and the highest cumulative conservation benefit. Decision-makers collectively chose to allocate funds to the projects in the optimal portfolio. The decision tool, along with the RFP system, will be used to allocate these funds in future years.