Decision Analysis for a Sustainable Environment, Economy & Society
Consequence analysis for environmental decision making
Decision Analysis for a Sustainable Environment, Economy, and Society, or DASEES, is an application that can integrate social, economic, and environmental measures from proposed actions in an easy-to-understand format for the evaluation of alternative options. DASEES supports issue framing, developing objectives, measures, and integration of data, modeling results, and other analyses identified as necessary to evaluate the consequences and tradeoffs of proposed solutions.
On this page:
Tool Download
The DASEES set up file can be downloaded by clicking the "Download DASEES Application" button below. The DASEES application is compatible with Windows and iOS operating systems but is not compatible with tablets or mobile devices.
For further instructions on downloading and opening the software, please refer to the DASEES User Guide and Technical Guide, also linked below.
Download DASEES Technical Guide
Downloading the application creates a file structure (project) on your computer. DASEES projects can be exported from DASEES and shared with other users as email attachments.
R Language Programming
Before using DASEES, statistical programming R language must be installed on your system. To download it:
- Visit the R Project website.
- Select your preferred Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) mirror site. Note: There are many mirror sites to choose from. It is recommended to choose a site near your geographical area.
- Download and install the R file appropriate for your operating system (Linux, OS, Windows). DASEES has been tested on Windows and OS, and should work in Linux, but has not been tested.
What is DASEES?
DASEES uses a five-step process to evaluate consequences and tradeoffs of decision options:
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Context
Understand the underlying context of the decision
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Objectives
Define the desired outcomes through objectives
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Options
Identify options (alternatives) for achieving desired outcomes
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Consequences
Evaluate options using applicable data and models
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Take Action
Develop a monitoring and adaptive management plan
Each step in DASEES contains easy to use and learn tools for framing a common understanding of a problem, identifying objectives, performance measures, options, and consequence analysis.
Publications & Case Studies
Publications
This report demonstrates the application of a structured decision-making (SDM) process in the Guánica Bay watershed (GBW) in southwestern Puerto Rico. It provides background information on SDM, Appendices with guidance on tools that can be used in applying SDM, a glossary and references.
The 2010 Guánica Bay Decision-Making Workshop brought together representatives from federal and territorial government agencies, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions, and Guánica Bay watershed citizens to develop a decision analysis framework built upon the Guánica Bay Watershed Management Plan.
EPA Report: Community Resilience Planning: A Decision-Making Framework for Coastal Communities
This report describes a structured decision-making process with DASEES that facilitated developing a shared vision for coastal community resilience planning across three levels of governance/administration in the southeast Florida region. DASEES was used to facilitate two workshops with residents of the coastal community of Dania Beach, Florida, and environmental planners from Broward County, Florida, with the aim to identify objectives for coastal decision-making that can inform the development of action plans promoting resilience.
EPA Report: Louisiana Resilience Roadmap: Choosing a path toward a more resilient future
This report describes the structure and creation process for a Resilience Roadmap based on structured decision making and ecosystem services assessment. The report is designed to guide community leaders in the development of a location-specific roadmap useful for decision support on the question of flood resilience. This report was created in collaboration with the Louisiana Watershed Initiative to support their efforts to foster new collaborative thinking in response to multiple flood events in Louisiana since 2016.
This review paper summarizes the 2019 Ecological Society of America (ESA) Annual meeting Symposium organized by EPA and provide lessons learned and future directions for integrating human health and ecosystem services for improving public health and environmental protection.
Presentations
- DASEES: Decision Analysis for a Sustainable Environment, Economy, and Society
- A Brief Introduction to Bayesian Networks in DASEES
- Support for Puget Sound Restoration Planning with DASEES and Structured Decision-Making
- Decision Analysis for a Sustainable Environment, Economy, and Society (DASEES): A tool for better decision-making by integrating community values with scientific understanding
Posters
Superfund Remedial Action Decision Process and Community Involvement Support with DASEES
Science Matters Story
Related Resources
EPA Report: Practical Strategies for Integrating Final Ecosystem Goods and Services into Community Decision-Making
This report uses Structured Decision Making (SDM) as an organizing framework to illustrate the role ecosystem services can play in a values-focused decision-process. A number of practical strategies for incorporating Final Ecosystem Goods and Services (FEGS), and more broadly ecosystem services, into the decision-making process are presented.
This report explores lessons learned applying an ecosystem goods and services approach to community decision making in a series of place-based studies. The result is a clarification and roadmap for improving community decision support through the identification of successes and gaps in application in need of further development and study. This report also proposes a conceptual approach to community decision support to aid in structuring future work.
Technical Support & Contact
For comments, questions, or feedback about using DASEES, please email CESER@epa.gov.