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Information about Opasnet

Opasnet is a wiki-based website for helping decisions about human health, and environmental factors affecting it. The website collects, synthesises, and distributes people's values and scientific information. We believe that all wise decision-making is based on expressing our values about what the really important things are, and understanding how the decision actually affects those things. This is why we need both values and science.

Opasnet welcomes anyone who wants to promote science-based decision-making in any field. We are actively working on climate change, and participants are welcome. Originally, the developers of this workspace came from the environmental health, i.e. a research field that studies the impacts of environment on human health. Therefore, you can find assessments about e.g. health impacts of air pollution or persistent pollutants in fish.

Anyone can solve common problems. Opasnet is the web workspace for solving them by you, and by us together.

Frequently asked questions about Opasnet
Basic information about the workspace: Opasnet | Open assessment | Open Assessors' Network
Ongoing projects: Climate change, cities, and emission trade (ET-CL) | Burden of disease in Finland (Seturi)
Previous workshops (including lectures): Open assessment workshop 2009 | Kuopio Risk Assessment Workshop 2008
Presentations: Open assessment and metal risks |
- Presentations in Finnish: Climate change and health - Ilmastonmuutos ja terveys | Open assessment - Avoin arviointi | Frameworks for risk assessment - Riskinarvioinnin viitekehyksiä
Information about page protection
Using Opasnet in an assessment project

What is improved by Opasnet and open assessment?

What improvements do Opasnet and open assessment bring to traditional methods of making science or policy analysis? For further details, see Opasnet.

It is easier to combine information from different disciplines.: In Opasnet, information is organised in a clever, standardised way.
The potential group of participants is larger - everyone.: There are no gatekeepers. Anyone is allowed to contribute.
A cacophony is prevented by dealing with specific questions.: The specificity makes it easy to identify and remove irrelevant contributions.
There are explicit rules for dealing with disputes.: Discussion rules are fairly straightforward, making it possible to agree on what is known or agreed upon and what is not.
Information is collected quicker.: You don't need to get elected or graduate before you can contribute to a policy analysis or a scientific issue.
The monopolies of scientists and politicians are broken down.: We are all responsible for improving the world. We must not wait for the professionals to do it. Opasnet is a workspace to do the job.
All good, existing practices can still be used.: Open assessment does not force to abandon any good practices. It offers an alternative to some.
The role of the scientific method is emphasised.: The scientific method (i.e., asking question, proposing answers, and critically evaluating them) is a major reason why science has been so successful. Opasnet offers a workspace to apply this in both science and policy in an enhanced mode.
The work focuses better on main issues.: The "enhanced mode" means that many tasks and work phases are simply left out because they are not needed in Opasnet.

How can you participate?

We can only help policy-making if a large group of people participate in the work. Find your own ways to contribute and act!

Participate in our end user evaluation
Get acquainted: read Welcome to Opasnet
Browse through the website and read about active assessments.
Tell about Opasnet to anyone who might use its information and guidance.
Tell about Opasnet to anyone who might contribute to it.
Collect specific information (you may even be paid!)
Participate in polls (you don't need to be logged in).
Get a user account for editing: Login and register (Please use your full name)
Give comments about any page and any content. Be bold! (You need to be logged in)
Provide original or modelled data into the Opasnet base.
Create and edit variables or whole assessments or studies.
Make a peer review of a page.
Become a moderator of a page.
Read about Opasnet technical policies