Open assessment workshop 2009

This page is a encyclopedia article. The page identifier is Op_en2582
Moderator:Nobody (see all) Click here to sign up.

Upload data {{#opasnet_base_link:Op_en2582}}

Open assessment workshop 2009 is the third workshop about new methods in assessments (previously more narrowly on risk assessment), organised by the National Public Health Institute (KTL), Kuopio, Finland. Its main purpose is to promote the idea and practice of open assessment, and further develop methods to perform them. The workshop has started from the needs of several EU-funded research projects, notably Intarese, Beneris, and Heimtsa. The workshop is mainly directed to postgraduate students working in the fields of environmental health or risk assessment, but it is also open to anyone interested. If you want to join the workshop, please create a user account (by following the log in/create account link in the right-top corner of the page) with your contact information and add your username to the list on the bottom of this page. There is no deadline for registration nor a registration fee for the workshop, but early registration is highly recommended in order to help both the organizers and the participants to arrange the facilities, programs etc.

General information

Time:	16.2. - 20.2.2009
Place:	KTL, Kuopio, Finland (Kuopio info)
Organizer:	National Public Health Institute (KTL), Department of Environmental Health

<googlemap lat="62.903976" lon="27.638855" type="map" zoom="11" width="375"> m62.893334, 27.679328, Kuopio, Finland 62.890603, 27.627397, KTL Neulaniementie 4, 70701 Kuopio, Finland </googlemap>

5-day weather forecast for Kuopio by the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

5-day weather forecast for Kuopio (in Finnish) by Foreca.

Description

The workshop will focus on open assessment (OA), namely:

The theoretical considerations behind OA
Methods to put the theory into practice
Technical facilitation of applying the methods
Group work on a real-life assessment case: open assessment on health impacts of climate change mitigation.

The workshop will consist of lectures on open assessment theory and methods as well as applying the methods to describe and evaluate a real-life risk assessment case using the software tools that have been and are being developed for the purpose.

Remote participation

If there should be any people who would like to participate in the workshop, but cannot come to Kuopio to attend the workshop in person, we try to organise a web-conference for the lecture sessions using Skype. The group work will be worked on using the Opasnet website, so also outsiders can relatively easily take part in that as well. This way you may also participate from wherever you are, as most major things - except the social program - will be made available via the Internet. Add your name on the list of remote via internet participants at the end of this page if you want to follow the workshop, but are unable to attend in person.

Daily program

The suggested daily workshop program below is structured according to morning, afternoon and evening sessions. The durations of these sessions will be as follows:

Morning: 9:00 - 11:45
Afternoon: 12:45 - 16:45
Evening: 17:00 ->

Lunch (at participant's own cost) 11:45 - 12:45 at Microteknia canteen.

Workshop program is under preparation. Give suggestions, and see the workshop program 2008.

Suggestions

Note: Eva Kunseler, dd 29Oct08

The lectures of the workshop in 2008 explained on the prinicipal idea, structure, methods (and tools) for open assessment (see listing below). The workshop offered the ultimate setting for vivid discussion on the rationale and applicability of open assessment and the suggested methods. In my opinion, the challenge for the workshop in 2009 is to see how current assessment methods&tools (e.g. health impact modelling) can be used for open assessments and what methods&tools are additionally required for successful open assessments. Each of the participants could explain on his or her experience with one or several assessment methods & tools and discuss its suitability for open assessment purposes. I could for example reflect on the issue-framing method and in this context present a tool for policy-relevant indicator-selection. The discussion could focus on how to generate an issue-framing tool that allows for integrating diverse stakes and perspectives. It would also be interesting to hear about experiences with open assessment performances: its successes, experiences difficulties, lessons and challenges.

See the contents of the workshop lectures 2008:

Lecture 1: Introduction to Open Risk Assessment (ORA) and the workshop (also in Finnish!)
Lecture 2: General assessment framework
Lecture 3: Information structure of ORA: assessment products and their relations
Lecture 4: Information structure of ORA: defining variables
Lecture 5: participating in assessments: argumentation
Lecture 6: participating in assessments: moderation and quality control
Lecture 7: evaluating assessment performance
Lecture 8: assessing uncertainties

Also see discussion page for more detailed lecture contents.

Social activities

We are open to suggestions! The Finland Ice marathon will be organised 18-22 February, 2009. [1]

Getting around in Kuopio

Arrival/departure by air

The distance from Kuopio airport to the city is about 17 km. There are two options to get from the airport to the hotel - bus and taxi.

Bus:

Airport buses (5 €/trip) operate (by Linja-Karjala Oy) from all domestic flights, except for the flight AY519, arriving 00.25! The bus leaves from the airport approximately 5-15 minutes after the flight has arrived (the bus will wait for the passengers to collect their luggage before leaving). Get off the bus at Market Square in the center of Kuopio. From the Market Square it is possible to walk to the hotel (distance 2,4 km, see map) or alternatively you can take a bus line 5 (2,70 €/trip) that goes by the hotel. Line 5 buses leave from the Market Square close to the Market Hall on the south end of the square (see map. The timetable (unfortunately only in Finnish) for line 5 can be seen here.

Airport buses operate to all domestic flights. Bus to the airport leaves from Market Square (front of Anttila department store, east end of the square, Puijonkatu 19) 55 minutes before flight departure.

Taxi:

After each flight arrival there will be taxis waiting outside the airport. You may choose the airport taxi service (18 €/person), which means that the driver will wait until the car is full (in practice 2-3 persons/taxi) before leaving and then takes each passenger to their destination. Alternatively you may choose the normal taxi service (about 30 €/trip). If there are 2 people or more sharing a normal taxi it will be cheaper to take the it instead of the airport taxi service. If there are no taxis waiting at the airport you can order one by calling +358 17 106 400.

When going to the airport, make your airport taxi bookings (18 €/person) at least 2 hours before your scheduled departure by calling +358 17 106 400. The taxi will come to pick you up from agreed location approximately 1 hour before the scheduled departure time. Again, if there are 2 or more people sharing the taxi, it is also possible to order a normal taxi from the same taxi center number +358 17 106 400.

Arrival/departure by train

Kuopio railway station is located close to the center. It is possible to walk to the hotel (distance 2,1 km, see map) or alternatively walk to Market Square and take bus line 5 going by the hotel. Line 5 buses leave from the Market Square close to the Market Hall on the south end of the square (see map. The timetable (unfortunately only in Finnish) for line 5 can be seen here. Getting from hotel to the railway station happens similarly, but vice versa.

Lectures and group work will take place at KTL, Neulanen building (see map). Meeting at the reception at 08.45, where you will receive your visitor cards.

Attendees

Please list your name and organisation here: (Requires login)

No accommodation needed:

Jouni Tuomisto, KTL, Risk research group

Accommodation needed:

Eva Kunseler (probably), PBL, Quality of the Local Environment

Participation via the Internet:

Add your name

Workshop preparation material

Guidebook provides guidance on the theory and methods related to the workshop. The guidebook is under development and will be updated frequently during the following weeks. Accessing Guidebook requires being logged in!
Glossary is a collection of important concepts and terms and their explanations
Download a free 15-day trial version of Analytica or an Analytica player for viewing the model from Lumina Decision Systems website. The free trials also include the user's guide and a tutorial (see Help menu). It is highly recommended to familiarize oneself with the basic functionalities of the software before the beginning of the workshop! An educational license to Analytica will be provided to the workshop participants for the duration of the workshop. The license key and information about how to activate it will be sent to the participants by e-mail.
See Help:Contents for guidance on using Opasnet (this site, running on Mediawiki software platform).