Proposals

The new Proposal Feature in the Vibrant Planet platform allows you to select projects from across multiple scenarios and planning areas to compile them into a comprehensive proposal. This feature provides you with outcome focused metrics related to changes in fire behavior, risk, and fire suppression that will be attributable to the proposed projects. Take proposals to a broader audience of constituents and funders using the packaged maps related to the projects and benefits, as well as outcome focused metric data in downloadable tables and Microsoft Word documents. 

Create a Proposal 

You can access the new feature by opening the Proposals tab. To start, select projects that you would like to include in the proposal. Projects do not need to be from the same scenario to be included. You can view and search for all eligible projects and drag projects into the order you would like them to be included in the proposal. For instance if two projects have some overlapping area, the project first in the list will take precedence and the project lower in the list will be clipped to that priority projects boundary. 

Configure a Proposal 

After selecting projects to include in your proposal, the next step is configuration. During this step you will be prompted to select whether you want outcome focused metrics calculated for the planning area (impact of the projects on the footprint of the planning area) or for the entire landscape (impact of the projects on the footprint of your whole landscape in the platform). You can view a proposal summary, including the total area of the proposal, project acreage, and cost to implement the projects. In the bottom left-hand corner of your screen there is a list of projects that have overlapping acres in the ‘Recommended Management Conflicts Report’ table. This table indicates when projects with overlapping boundaries have different recommended management options. The management option for the project that falls first in the priority list will be selected. You may return to the ‘Select’ tab to reorder the projects if need be.

Once you are happy with the projects you’ve selected and ordered as well as the configuration selections, you can select ‘create proposal.’ This saves your proposal and provides outcome focused metrics as well as export options. Once you have saved a proposal no changes can be made. 

Outcome Focused Metrics

The Vibrant Planet platform provides you an extensive set of outcome focused metrics based on the proposal you’ve created. Available metrics include change in total wildfire hazard, change in expected annual acres burned, change in rate of spread, and change in combined wildfire risk to ecosystem services. There are also metrics available for Objective Categories including change in acres of sources of ember load to buildings (assets), acres of WUI with extreme fire behavior (safety). You can explore logistics including land ownership distribution and management method distribution across all of the projects in your proposal. 

Export Proposals

Once you have built a proposal you can export a number of reports, maps, shapefiles, and data depending on your needs. There are multiple Microsoft Word templates available for export that include financial estimates of management activities in your proposal, estimated product benefits, estimated change in wildfire hazard and more. Use these templates and map downloads to build grant proposals, CWPPs, and other public facing documents. 

Here's a potential use case:

Let's say a collaborative focused on the a specific Watershed is seeking funding for a forest health initiative. The team used Vibrant Planet to develop various scenarios targeting different objectives, such as:

Scenario 1: Focused on reducing wildfire risk to communities.

Scenario 2: Focused on improving water quality and safeguarding source water areas.

Scenario 3: Focused on enhancing habitat for a specific sensitive species.

Using the Proposal Feature, the team can now select specific projects from each scenario based on factors like:

• Feasibility: Prioritize projects based on accessibility, ownership, and potential implementation challenges.
• Partner Interests: Include projects that align with the interests and objectives of key partners and stakeholders.
• Funding Opportunities: Select projects that match the criteria of potential funding sources.