Crowdsourcing VGA

An Elegant Solution to a Thorny Problem

Ron Cannarella

DLNR/DOFAW

Ph (808) 587-4189

Ronald.J.Cannarella@hawaii.gov

Crowdsourcing VGA

An Elegant Solution to a Thorny Problem

Ron Cannarella

DLNR/DOFAW

Ph (808) 587-4189

Ronald.J.Cannarella@hawaii.gov

Crowdsourcing VGA

An Elegant Paradigm to Solving Some

Seemingly Easy Problems

And, More Importantly,

Making Some Headway on the

Wicked Problems. Ron Cannarella

DLNR/DOFAW

Ph (808) 587-4189

Ronald.J.Cannarella@hawaii.gov

I do not endorse any one vendor or product.

I am not authorized to speak on behalf of my employer (the State of Hawaii), our partners, or anyone else. Blame me.

Goal #1: Provide food for thought.

Goal #2: Save Paradise without getting killed or fired. I just wanna help.

But First, A Disclaimer

Does Ron Have Street Cred?

Been in the business of saving the

planet since I was 10.

Been in government since I was 10.

Been practicing GIS since ArcInfo 6

Recently completed landscape level

planning process for Hawaii, SWARS.

I only talk about things I know about

from experience.

And Yet

Every day I am amazed at how much I

don’t know.

One hour after my abstract was

accepted, it was already obsolete. Every

day since has been an epic journey of

discovery.

It began one afternoon . . .

After Several Years of Failures

Failure #1: Database Working Group

Spent Years Trying To Develop Unified

Biological Database. Gave Up in 1995.

Failure #2: Tried to Develop Custom app

for ArcPad so DOCARE Could Issue

Citations in the Field. Even Had a

Dedicated I.T. Guy. Gave Up in 2010.

After Several Years of Failures

Failure #3: Still Cannot Make Definitive Map of Invasive Species “Hot Spots”

Failure #4: Lost Track of the “Heritage Database”.

Failure #5: Still Trying to Develop Protocol and Database for Tracking “Act 82” Warning Signs.

But Also Many Successes

SWARS very successful “First Try” to Map All Forestry Issues, on All Lands, All Ownerships, Including Urban Areas.

Learned Where Our Data Gaps Were. (Invasives!!!)

Created New and Innovative Layers (the “Urban Realm Layer”)

New Partnerships (TNCH, LANDFIRE, ORMP You Rock!)

Developed First “Climate Change” Strategy

Then One Day . . .

ESRI Podcast

Crowdsourcing VGI

SMCH

Tara

Coombs Pau

Hana

Burt Lum

Forest Frizzell

Code for

America

Royce Jones

Ken Schmidt

honolulu311

Unconferenz

Another Reality

Royce Jones

Tara Coombs

CitySourced

What

Next?

And Now, Some Definitions

Crowdsourcing

“A Distributed Problem-Solving Process

Where Tasks Are Outsourced to An

Undefined Public; The Crowd.

Source: Wikipedia, the Best Example of

Crowdsourcing.. My Condolences to the

Encyclopedia Britannica Family.

3 Parts to the System

1. The Smart Phone App (free)

2. The Dispatch Console, 311 Center

(annual fee, based on population)

3. Website CitySourced.com (free)

And, drumroll…

The annual fee is based on population.

The City & County has 90% of the population, cost approx $50K / year

Data submitted from non-county lands is not utilized. (Tossed, ignored?)

For cities of 1 – 5 million people, annual fee is $75K

CitySourced would LOVE to cover the whole State of Hawaii.

DLNR Has Very Concrete Needs

Act 82 Signs must be inspected regularly, and documented. Perfect for Crowdsourcing

Populations of rare species must be monitored regularly

DLNR routinely responds to reports of dead birds, etc.

DOCARE officers need to know where they are when issuing a citation

Now, about that 311 part

1. That’s where the magic happens

2. Must have buy-in of 311 dispatch staff

3. Hearing rumblings of “my workload just

skyrocketed because of this thing”

4. Solution must be implemented

throughout the enterprise

(Disclosure: I don’t know hardly nothing about this from personal experience.)

Same Concerns at DLNR

1. Afraid of “too much data”

2. Afraid to raise public expectations

3. Can’t afford to provide every

employee with smart phone

4. General inertia to resist change

5. How can you trust data. What would

Anthony Weiner do?

Consider this

This app cannot create a pothole or

graffiti. Your workload was always

there. Ignoring it only makes the

problem worse.

Without data you cannot justify

increased resources. “Baby Food or

Bridges?” 1000 mothers with babies

will trump 3 engineers at the Leg.

What’s More

The Feds are requiring the states to spatially

define their priority areas. SWARS was just

the beginning.

Before SWARS, Hawaii’s Urban &

Community Forestry Program had no

concept of space. Now they have a

sophisticated canopy assessment. Next step,

real urban tree inventory. They will be able to

map priority areas, and opportunities for

collaboration.

And Then There Are The

“Wicked Problems”

Check out “Invasive Notes” blog,

ipetrus.blogspot.com

Brilliant author.

Wealth of Information.

“Characteristics of a Wicked Problem”

1. There is No Definitive Formulation of a Wicked Problem.

2. Solutions to wicked problems are not true-or-false, but better or worse.

3. There is no immediate or ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem.

4. Every solution to a wicked problem is a "one-shot operation"; because there is no opportunity to learn by trial and error.

“Characteristics of a Wicked Problem”

1. Wicked Problems do Not Have an Enumerable Set of Potential Solutions.

2. Every Wicked Problem is Essentially Unique.

3. Every Wicked Problem Can be Considered to be a Symptom of Another Problem.

4. Discrepancies in Defining a Wicked Problem Arise Because the Definition Determines the Nature of the Problem's Resolution.

5. The Planner Has NO RIGHT TO BE WRONG (Planners are Liable for the Consequences of the Actions They Generate).

Newly Added Criteria . . .

1. The Problem is Not Understood Until After the Formulation of a Solution. Stakeholders Have Radically Different World Views.

2. Constraints and Resources Needed Change Over Time.

3. The Problem is Never “Solved”.

4. Group Efforts and Compromise Are The Only Way to Come Close to “Solving” the Problem.

5. They Require Innovative/Creative Solutions.

6. Every Implemented Solution to a Wicked Problem Has Unintended or Unanticipated Consequences.

Footnotes and Conclusions

I do not advocate one vendor or technology

over another. But we need solutions to some

simple problems, now.

Build on what is tested and successful.

Success in Dealing with Wicked Problems

Requires Transparency, Facts and Courage.

Collaborate, Negotiate or Separate. “Lead,

Follow or Get Out of the Way.”

IMHO

We all have Simple Problems to Solve. Act 82. Potholes. A Snake Sighting. Reporting a Wildland Fire. We Can Do This.

People Love Hawaii. Especially the visitors. Empower them to help keep Paradise Paradise.

We Have Our Wicked Problems; Hawaiian Sovereignty, Traffic, Invasives, Sea Level Rise, Ice/Batu/Tina/Meth, Homelessness. Community Involvement is Essential.

Finally Imagine if everyone had a simple app on

their phone to report anything, and that

report instantly went to the right agency.

Imagine what a partnership with the C&C, the

State, Feds, Counties, Military, School Kids,

NGO’s, Working Together Could Do for the

`aina. The Whole State as One?

How Elegant a Solution; A Simple Free

Existing GIS App With a Powerful Engine.

Makapu`u Would Again Have A Million Eyes.