We begin by holding repeated focus group sessions with our trainees and the leadership of our partner institution. These focus groups seek to identify the primary technical knowledge gaps of our trainee population and their preferred level of instruction, as well as the key environmental threat ase studies that they are most interested in investigating.

We hold a series of conversations on the most pressing environmental threats that our trainees are facing in their local region, identifying key areas of analysis that our partners want to prioritize in lessons. We discuss how satellite technology can be used to fill data gaps in understanding the extent and impact of these environmental threats

We design the technical curriculum of our workshop according to the results of our needs assessment and case study selection procedures, constantly iterating our design with frequent calls with our trainee focus groups and partner organization leadership. This stage of back-and-forth iteration ensures that the difficulty level and subject areas covered are exactly tailored to trainee needs and preferences.

After each workshop day, we hold a brief focus group session with our trainees to hear their feedback on the difficulty level and content of that day’s session. This enables us to adjust the next day’s content accordingly, enabling us to avoid missing opportunities for more closely tailoring our material to trainee needs. After the entire workshop concludes, we distribute surveys and hold a more comprehensive focus group to gauge trainee satisfaction with the course content, teaching style, difficulty level, and application to their personal work.