The University of California Davis Center for Citizen and Community Science worked with the staff of Public Lab to create a Logic Model that we could use in evaluating our impact. Here it is, both the direct link, and as an image:

Let's take closer look

Clearly, there's a lot of densely packed information in here. Let's explore column by column; I created a graphic to illustrate each column followed by plain text:

Inputs

Financial Capital

• Grants
• Corporate sponsorships
• Individual contributions
• Kits sales
• Fiscal sponsorships

Human Capital:

• Community members
• Organizers
• Board of directors
• Employees
• Funding Partners
• Advisors (Pro bono, et al)
• Institutional Partners
• Organizational Partners
• Collaborating individuals •Collaborating individuals who are also part of other orgs / agencies / institutions / firms
• Communities of shared interest
• Place-based communities
• Coalitions, Networks, Movements

Material Capital:

• In kind equipment
• In kind supplies
• In kind physical spaces
• Free & open source resources (code, designs, publications)

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Outputs - activities

• The Public Lab community (PL) convenes and maintains welcoming and respectful in-person and online spaces through the upholding of a Code of Conduct, anchored by the non-profit

• PL community exchanges, asks for, and contributes resources, strategies, supporting materials, and processes for achieving the mission -- including organizing, policy analysis, development of accessible data collection and handling methods, design and distribution of accessible hardware kits -- and supports their use

• PL staff host, maintain, and refine -- with community contribution -- collaboration platforms & processes to promote exchanges, requests, and contributions online and through printed materials

• PL organizers add structure to collaborative efforts through facilitating, project managing, matchmaking, and onboarding

• Public Lab broadly cultivates institutional & organizational partnerships, and participates in coalitions, networks, and movements

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Outputs - participation

• Overview: the described Outputs and Outcomes happen across, among, and beyond the Public Lab community, with the non-profit staff providing a backstop of responsibility and focus on the mission. Refer to Org Chart.

• Public Lab community is broadly defined as anyone interacting with the Public Lab ecosystem

• Public Lab organizers are broadly defined as anyone, including staff, who picks up facilitation, project management, matchmaking, or onboarding work

• Public Lab staff are employees of the US-incorporated 501(c)3 non-profit

• Partners & collaborators may include individuals, communities of shared interest, place-based communities, non-profit organizations, civil servants and government agencies, elected officials at any level of government, academic institutions, firms, among others

• Coalitions, networks, and movements are assemblages working toward aligned goals

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Outcomes - short term

These short-term outcomes are numbered for ease of reference, and the image contains abbreviated text to make these faster to comprehend by new readers:

• 1 - Resources are available to do environmental data and information gathering at quality levels relevant for organizing and advocacy (Kits Initiative)

• 2 - Local data collection projects contribute perspectives on environmental concerns and galvanize community organization

• 3 - PL community members exchange stories, resources, methods, equipment, and strategies across lived experiences, domains of expertise, and networks

• 4 - PL community activity and interaction increases in quality and quantity, particularly dialogue

• 5 - PL community members learn concepts, attitudes, and skills, as well as benefit from interacting in Public Lab

• 6 - PL maintains existing and develops new institutional & organizational partnerships, and continues and expands participation in coalitions, networks, and movements

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Outcomes - medium term

• PL community members advocate for locally determined goals, projects, and needs through data and community organizing

• Community projects gain exposure and problem solving capacity; Initiation of projects increases

• PL community members develop methods and materials for public use, and others use these tools and materials for their own projects

• PL community members take ownership of scientific knowledge generation and sharing

• Organizational partnerships are strong, sustained, and provide the basis for a larger, well-connected network

• Government, academia, professional associations, and civil society respect and have positive perceptions of different kinds of local knowledge and expertise

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Outcomes - long term

• The public has greater capacity to monitor, understand, and critique existing decision-making through data that strengthens accountability

• The public’s improved collaboration skills in addressing complex, systemic issues lead to improved, more equitable governance, reducing injustice

• Community science, and free & open source projects are promoting justice and equity

• Community science, and free & open source practices are prevalent in environmental monitoring projects

• Open licensing and publishing is built into all publicly funded research and development for environmental monitoring

• There is political will for the public sector to maintain its responsibility for ensuring equitable environmental health through science-based policy