In the News

Cutting-edge Valuation Study on Public Service ProvisionResource Dimensions

UK Stirling-based office was commissioned by the Highland Council's Wellbeing Alliance to conduct a ground breaking valuation project on core public service provision for the Ross & Cromarty. The Wellbeing Alliance is a partnership of seven public agencies and the voluntary sector in Scotland's Highland region.

Dr. Gustanski and Bergmann developed and integrated methodology that employed the use of Ethnographic methods and an innovative survey approach called a Discrete Choice Experiment.

Ethnographic analysis, used in Phase I, enhances the researcher’s ability to analyse qualitative information as interview and focus group transcripts by removing certain bias elements to ensure accuracy in interpretation and assignment of rank values by the public. Ethnograph, much like a statistical data-base, allows for coded transcripts to be broken down and analysed by key words or phrases and provides the analysis in a statistical format which facilitates the use of data in developing complex models that integrate qualitative and quantitative data.

The discrete choice method, used in Phase II, has been gaining popularity with economists in determining public preferences and values for goods and services not traded within traditional markets, such as those provided by the environment.

The objective of the project was to gain important information relative to how people throughout the Highland's Ross & Cromarty District value eight core public services. The research is believed to be the first time that such a broad range of local public services have been investigated in this way.

In addition to understanding qualitatively how people think and feel about particular publicly provided services, the use of choice experiments imparts a quantitative measure of how strongly people value selected public services, and their willingness-to-pay for incremental changes or improvements in service provision.

The principal objective of the study is to explore better ways of finding out what people want from the public sector, and given that resources are always limited, what services the public are most prepared to pay for.

In addition to revealing the strength of public support for specific core services this work will aid the public sector in becoming more adept at understanding their community’s needs.

CLICK HERE for a June 2005 release from the Highland Council on the project.

For more information contact Resource Dimensions’ Ariel Bergmann at: arielbergmann@ecologicalecon.com
or Julie Ann Gustanski at:
jgustanski@ecologicalecon.com

Economic Impacts of Trails and Natural Lands in Washington’s Methow Valley

Resource Dimensions recently completed the economic impact study for the Methow Valley Sport Trails Association (MVSTA) trails network and protected land resources of the Methow Valley.

Working with MVSTA Executive Director Jay Lucas, Danica Kaufman (MVSTA), and Sarah Brooks (Metho Conservancy), and Dr. Gustanski developed the research strategy and led the Resource Dimensions team in conducting a multi-attribute economic impact analysis and trail use study relative to the 200 km MVSTA trail system in Washington’s Methow Valley.

The project included interviews, survey of trail users, valley residents and local businesses. Respondents were queried with regard to trail attributes, local land conservation strategies, trip duration and expenditures, use and types of use, expectations, direct and indirect impacts and a variety of quality of life issues. The survey process was used to evaluate relationships between values, public preferences and expenditure patterns in the region, and to develop willingness-to-pay (WTP) measures for outdoor recreation, amenity, and other nature-based services.

The economic impact analysis employed used a series of methods including I/O models, contingent valuation, regression analysis, economic forecasting and cost-benefit analysis.

In addition to local fiscal impacts, direct use and expenditures, we also analyzed indirect use and several non-market benefits. Indirect, non-market values refer to functional benefits, frequently called ecosystem services, which may include everything from flood control, to water filtration to provision of cultural resources and recreational opportunities, to real estate amenity values.

Studies conducted by Resource Dimensions and other economists on the value of ecosystem services produced by open space, farmland, habitat and other natural resource lands indicates that such resources are producing ecological services worth many billions of dollars annually. Ecological services provide an indispensable complement to the human-created economy. As a result, intelligent land use decisions cannot be made without taking into account the services produced by ecosystems.

CLICK HERE for a copy of the Executive Summary developed for the Methow Conservancy.

CLICK HERE for the full report Economic Impacts of MVSTA Trails and Land Resources in the Methow Valley prepared for MVSTA.

Washington State Grazing Program Audit & Cost-Benefit Analysis

Resource Dimensions recently completed a program audit and cost-benefit analysis of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Grazing Program for the Washington State Joint Legislative and Audit Review Committee (JLARC).

The analysis evaluates DNR’s current grazing program operations using comparative, statistical, and economic analyses to estimate the range of economic impacts of the current program compared to several alternative policy or program actions.

The principle question being: “Does the grazing program make money for trust beneficiaries?”

The complexity of the social and institutional setting of the program required an approach that could address both the question of fiduciary responsibility and those embedded in related issues such as:

• DNR management practices related to administration of the grazing program
• Assessment of benefits generated beyond direct revenues
• Assessment of costs accrued beyond direct management costs
• Potential to realize both present income and enhance the resource base for perpetual revenue generation

Therefore, the study took a multi-methods costs-benefits approach to its investigation and analysis. In that not all costs and benefits can be quantified in dollar values given the limitations of the study, the BCA approach used sought to incorporate more than monetary measures of benefits and costs into the process.

An interactive Cost-Benefit Calculator Model was also developed for future use by the DNR.

The report has been approved by the State Office of Financial Management and the DNR and was reviewed in committee for release in September 2005.
CLICK HERE to view or download a copy of the final report.

USDA Forest Service – 5-year $25 M National Content Analysis Contract

Resource Dimensions Teams with ESA in San Francisco to Win Largest Contract Award in its History.

Resource Dimensions, a Gig Harbor, Washington based, woman-owned economics, land use and natural resource policy consulting firm learned in late October 2004 that it together with the lead firm Environmental Science Associates (ESA), based in San Francisco, CA and two other firms, Timberline Resources (Billings, MT), and The Environmental Company (Boise, ID office) had been awarded the largest consulting contract in the firm's history.

The contract awards were announced by the USDA Forest Service after over 14 months of meetings, preparation and proposal review by the USFS Content Analysis Team based in Salt Lake City, Utah and Missoula, Montana.

The 5-Year $25-million national contract, will support Content Analysis Services on a variety of federal projects and was issued on an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) basis, which allows for awards up to $5 million for each of the five years.

Social qualitative analysis (a/k/a content analysis) related to land use and resource management issues and environmental policies is one of Resource Dimensions’ unique specialties. The work will include the compilation, recording, coding, examination, and qualitative analysis of public comments related to a diversity of proposed projects and/or policy changes that may affect or impact the environment and management of natural resources across the country.

The broad range of projects on which Resource Dimensions and its project partners will be involved in will include those required to follow the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Passed in 1969 and subsequently revised, NEPA mandates specified periods for public comment within the decision-making phase of projects that use federal funds or are undertaken by federal government agencies (e.g. National Park Service, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Highway Administration, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, etc.)

For more information please contact Resource Dimensions' Nan Gostyn nan@ecologicalecon.com

Valuing the Environmental and Employment Impacts of Renewable Energy Investments in Scotland

Resource Dimensions UK office manager and energy economist Ariel Bergmann, PhD was the principal investigator on this recently completed a countrywide study designed to estimate the value of environmental and employment impacts from proposed expansion of renewable energy.

This study was funded by a grant from the Scottish Economic Policy Network (SEPN) with funding assistance provided by the University of Glasgow, Department of Economics (Professor Nick Hanley) and the University of Sterling (Robert Wright). The goal of the project was to determine the value of differing types of renewable energy projects by how they would effect environmental and community quality of life factors.

The key issues examined include; air quality, landscape, wildlife, and long term local employment. Stated preference methods were employed through the use of a discrete choice experiment survey approach. Willingness-to-pay for different types of renewable energy projects was estimated, i.e., moderate onshore windmill farms, large onshore windmill farms, offshore windmill farms, and biomass fueled power plants. The most significant findings were that rural areas likely to be most highly impacted by the new energy projects were willing to accept low or moderate environmental damage in exchange for commercial development gains. Urban respondents on the other hand were more likely to oppose any disturbance to the landscape or wildlife and had no value placed on the economics development gains for the rural areas; income level of households showed no significant difference in environmental values.

CLICK HERE for a copy of the full report.

For more information please contact Resource Dimensions’ Ariel Bergmann at:
arielbergmann@ecologicalecon.com