Participants

Participant Impressions

According to an exit survey of 28 participants prior to the workshop, the majority of attendees were slightly or moderately knowledgeable of ecological forecasting CI. Around 20% were very knowledgeable, and 7% were not at all knowledgeable. This makeup of participants influenced the scope of the topics covered, focusing more on higher level concepts and general design rather than the technical aspects of cyber infrastructure. Overall, the workshop was well received. It met participants’ expectations, with the majority being ‘extremely satisfied’, although the lack of technical content was noted by several survey respondents.

Reported knowledge gains from the workshop were significant. Participants increased their familiarity with the EFI initiative, NERACOOS, and ecological forecasting cyberinfrastructure in general. There was a strong gain in knowledge about the forecasting cyberinfrastructure of other organizations, increasing from 0% and 11% to 14% and 71% (very knowledgeable and moderately knowledgeable respectively). The strong satisfaction of participants with the workshop was underscored by strong agreement that the workshop facilitated effective collaboration, increased community engagement, and was considered a valuable use of time aligning well with personal goals. Moreover, interactions with workshop organizers and the efficacy of communications were particularly praised. Participants valued the chance to meet peers, learn from diverse CI use cases, and engage in discussions that spanned across multiple perspectives including those focusing on design justice principles. Recommendations for future workshops emphasized a desire for more hands-on experiences with cyberinfrastructure tools, deeper technical discussions, and enhanced skill-building sessions.