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Product Development

In the course of the second phase, we are addressing the issue of alternative information delivery scenarios. It is a problem of defining users' (1) specific information needs, (2) information management capacities, and (3) relationships with information providers on which they rely. For example, while all potential clients of the Infomart might have the same or very similar information requirements, the will operate in very different information environments. A state or tribal agency may have an internal staff that develops information products and puts them into some sore of formal decision support system. Consultants may provide similar information services to ranchers who can afford them, but who are more likely to operate within a more restricted staffing and equipment environment than a state agency. County extension agents may provide similar kinds of information to a variety of resource managers in their county, but have very modest resources and training in developing it themselves. Finally, individual ranchers may choose to develop their own "decision support system," drawing directly on Infomart information resources with little outside assistance. With the participation of all these players, we will develop alternative models for information distribution and use.