Plansup can provide several types of support to your organization. Next to land use and biodiversity
assessments a wide scale of planning support is offered. More information can be found at the Expertise page.

Tailor made training

Plansup has gained considerable experience with the organization and implementation of workshops and training programs.
These can be customized according to the preferences of your organization. In addition some examples are worked out below.

1.  Introduction workshop:
Policy support tools for environmental assessments

An introduction to policy tools that facilitate the impact assessment of socio economic developments.

Duration
3 days

Target group
 This training is aimed at higher level officials and professionals working at organizations that are involved with environmental policy formulation or monitoring, who would like to use information from decision support tools to improve the impact assessment of socio economic developments.

Course content
This three day course includes training on the following topics:

• Introduction to decision support tools used to assess the impact of socioeconomic developments on land use and ecosystem quality
• Indicators
• Assessment methodology of main pressures on land use and biodiversity change
• Introduction to scenario building and quantification of policy alternatives. How to set up a multidisciplinary scenario team, organize participative scenario workshops, identifying relevant stakeholders and integration with relevant sectors, themes and scales
• Analyze the results of existing assessments with these decision support tools
• Examples how to embed these tools in existing policy processes

Costs
There are two options: A:Lump sum or B: fee per participant

A: Lump sum option: Approx 5000-7000 euro
No participant fee, maximum 25 participants
Venue and local participant related cost (DSA, travel) to be covered by requesting organization

B: Fee per participant: approx. 550 euro per participant (minimum 10 participants)
Exact cost dependent on actual DSA and travel cost for trainer
Venue and local participant related cost (DSA, travel) to be covered by requesting organization

 

2.  Base training on land use and biodiversity modelling

The course acquaints participants with the methodology, GIS techniques  and practical implementation of two models: the Globio3 biodiversity model and Clue land use model.  Pre-processed data and selected modelling exercises will be used in order to implement the methodology. This will enable participants to use the decision support tools by themselves. The ability to use such tools will allow improved decisions about all aspects of planning, regulation, development management, the use of biodiversity and environmental protection.

Duration
5 days

Target group
 This training is aimed at officials, professionals and technicians working at organizations that are involved with environmental policy formulation or monitoring, who would like to use information from decision support tools to improve the impact assessment of socio economic developments.  The course is also suitable for academic participants. Basic GIS knowledge is recommended but not required.

Course content
This five day course includes training on the following topics:

• Detailed methodology and principles of GLOBIO3 and CLUE modelling tools and their integrated use to assess the impact of socio economic developments on land use and ecosystem quality
• Indicators
• Assessment methodology of main pressures on land use and biodiversity change
• Methodology to adapt generic model values to local conditions with local expertise
• Raster GIS analysis in order to calculate the impact on biodiversity per pressure type
• Calculation of current land use and biodiversity status per pressure type and per administrative unit
• Introduction to scenario building and quantification of policy alternatives. How to set up a multi-disciplinary scenario team, organize participative scenario workshops, identifying relevant stakeholders and integration with relevant sectors, themes and scales
• Quantification of scenario information and development of demand table per land use type
• Adjusting settings of land use model CLUE to local conditions and running Clue
• Calculation of future land use and biodiversity status per pressure type and per administrative unit
• Analyse the output and results of the decision support tools
• Implications for policy makers and how to communicate these.
• Examples how to embed these tools in existing policy processes

Costs
The costs mentioned here are based on the use of pre/processed training  data.
For the use of local data see note below.

There are two options: A:Lump sum or B: fee per participant

A: Lump sum option: approx. 8,000 – 10,000 euro, excl. DSA and travel cost
No participant fee, maximum 25 participants
Venue and local participant related cost (DSA, travel) to be covered by requesting organization

B: Fee per participant: approx. 850 euro per participant (minimum 10 participants)
Exact cost is dependent on actual DSA and travel cost for trainer

Venue and local participant related cost (DSA, travel) to be covered by requesting organization

 

3. Scenario Development workshop (3 days)

Target group:
Higher level officials and professionals working with environmental planning from different sectorial organizations

The result: 
Integration and quantification of most important developments and factors per sector with respect to land use and biodiversity change. Acquaintance with the calculation of land use demand figures per policy alternative.

The process: 
Local venue organized by your department. Plansup will guide multi-disciplinary working sessions on scenario development and policy option formulation. Special focus on facilitation of stakeholder participation.

 

Explanatory notes to the courses

Depending on the selected training option, data and lecture materials will be prepared. The training will be interactive with a variation of presentations and breakout sessions. For the short course of three days, limited or no GIS exercises will be carried out and GIS software is not required. For the 2nd training option either existing training data (from China, Vietnam, Indonesia or Mongolia) or local data can be used and an assessment can be made of current and future land use and biodiversity. For the biodiversity assessment the pressure based GLOBIO3 model will be used. The CLUE land use model is integrated with GLOBIO3 in order to determine future land use as one of the involved pressures. Mid and long term land use scenarios can be drafted based on existing policy plans and used in the modelling in order to calculate the expected impact of these scenarios on land use and biodiversity change.

Courses can be customized according preferences of the requesting organization. In order to get a broader acceptance of the models it is recommended to involve higher level staff and policy makers before the implementation of the course so that they learn about the possibilities and limitations of the models. The aim is to get a high acceptance level both at management and policy level and at technical and operational level. This can be achieved by the introduction of the models in a seminar prior to the course with relevant stakeholders.

To ensure sustainable use of policy tools it is advised to:

• Include different level target groups for broader acceptance and allocation of staff time
• Include university staff to guarantee technical support and update tools with latest developments
• Embed tools in an existing policy process (e.g. local IA or SEA)
• Appoint an institute as responsible organization for implementation of the tools

The number of participants per training course may vary from 10-25 people, with minimal one laptop or computer per group of three for the modelling training. For the 5 days course ArcGIS software need to be installed prior to the course  on these computers. A free test license can be used for the training.

Training data, manuals and models will be made available for use by the participants and are free of cost.

Additional cost for preparation of local data
The cost of the course is dependent on the used data for the training. Costs will be as indicated above if already prepared training data of a sample country will be used. If the training will be based on local data, these data will need to be prepared before training in order to carry out all training elements within the training of five days. For the use of local data a quotation can be delivered on request.

Organization
The venue of the training should be organized well in advance by the requesting party. In case of the medium training course training data need to be collected in advance by the University. Equipment and GIS software needs to be made available by the University as well.

Training materials and lectures will be provided by Plansup.

Planning
Depending on the selection of one of the two training levels, dates can be set for the training. The consultant who will be responsible for the training, Wilbert van Rooij of Plansup, will state his availability once a date has been determined. In case local data are to be used in the training (5 day course) scenario information and GIS data needs to be collected by the requesting organization and will be prepared by Plansup in advance. Directions which data need to be collected will be sent in advance.

For additional information on the courses or quotations please contact Wilbert van Rooij of Plansup.