Survey of past mentors

OMB Control No.: 0648-xxxx
Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx
Survey of Past State Coastal Zone Management Program Mentors
Evaluation of the NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship Program
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Coastal Services Center (Center)
GEARS, Inc.

Thank you for agreeing to take part in this survey of state coastal zone management program mentors as
part of the evaluation of the NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship Program. Your answers to the
following questions will help us improve our understanding of the effectiveness of the fellowship
program and how it impacts state coastal zone management programs and the professional goals of
fellows. We are interested in your honest opinions, both positive and negative.
This survey will take approximately 40 minutes to complete. Your participation is completely voluntary
and you may withdraw from the survey or refuse to answer any question at any time. There are no
negative consequences to your decision not to participate in the survey. Only GEARS evaluation staff
associated with this evaluation will have access to identifying information. Your survey will be combined
with other surveys and only aggregate information will be reported in findings. Your responses will be
held in the strictest confidence. All survey data will be kept in a secure location at GEARS and will be
protected by GEARS to the extent allowed by the law. If you have any questions about the evaluation
study, you can contact the lead evaluator, Dr. Deborah Brome, by telephone at 866-858-1261.

Your Experiences
Please answer the following questions about your experiences with the fellowship program at the time
that you served as a mentor.
1. At the time that you served as a mentor, which state coastal zone management program were you a
part of?
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. How many fellows have you personally mentored?
_________________
3. In total, how many fellows has your state had?

_________________

4. Do you read Fellow News?

___Yes

___No

If you read Fellows News, what do you find is the most appealing aspect?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation designed by GEARS Inc.
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_________________________________________________________________________________
5. Do you use the Coastal Management Fellowship Program’s website?

If yes, can you easily find the information you are looking for?

___Yes

___No

___Yes

___No

What type of information do you seek most often?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
What topics or items currently not included on the website would you find useful to have?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

Your State Coastal Zone Management Program’s Projects
Please answer questions about your fellow and his or her main project. If you have mentored more than
one fellow, please provide that information under the section “Past Fellow #2 and Project.”
Past Fellow #1 and Project
What year did your fellow arrive: _________________________
1. What was your past fellow’s project topic?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
2. Would you have been able to undertake and/or complete this project without this fellow?
___Yes ___No
Please explain:
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________________________________
3. What was the contribution (e.g., $$$, human resources, equipment, travel, training, etc.) from your
state coastal zone management program toward this project?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
4. What skills were needed for your fellow to successfully conduct this project?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
5. Did your fellow have adequate skills to successfully conduct this project?
___Yes

___No

If no, what skills were underdeveloped or missing?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
6. Has your project become a model that has been used by other states?
___Yes

___No

___Don’t Know

Please explain including how, by whom, and when it’s been used:
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

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7. Was this project integrated into or utilized by your state coastal zone management program?
___Yes ___No
Please explain and if yes, how and when was this project integrated or utilized (immediately after
completion, 6 months later, or one year later, etc.)?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
8. Overall, how satisfied were you with your fellow’s performance? (Circle the number that best
reflects your answer.)
1----------------------2--------------------3-----------------------4------------------5
Very
Somewhat
Neither Satisfied
Somewhat
Very
Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Nor Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied

0
Don’t
Know

9. How satisfied were you with the mentorship you provided your fellow? (Circle the number that best
reflects your answer.)
1----------------------2--------------------3-----------------------4------------------5
Not at all
Somewhat
Neither Satisfied
Somewhat
Extremely
Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Nor Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied

0
Don’t
Know

If you mentored a second fellow, please complete the following, if not please skip this section:

Previous Fellow #2 and Project
What year did your fellow arrive: _____________________
1. What was your past fellow’s project topic?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

2. Would you have been able to undertake and/or complete this project without this fellow?
___Yes ___No

__________________________________________________________________________________________
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Please explain:
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

3. What was the contribution (e.g., $$$, human resources, equipment, travel, training, etc.) from your
state coastal zone management program toward this project?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

4. What skills were needed for your fellow to successfully conduct this project?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

5. Did your fellow have adequate skills to successfully conduct this project?
___Yes

___No

If no, what skills were underdeveloped or missing?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________
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6. Has your project become a model that has been used by other states?
___Yes

___No

___Don’t Know

Please explain including how, by whom, and when it’s been used:
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
7. Was this project integrated into or utilized by your state coastal zone management program?
___Yes ___No
Please explain why or why not and if yes, how and when was this project was integrated or utilized
(immediately after completion, 6 months later, or one year later, etc.)?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
8. Overall, how satisfied were you with your fellow’s performance? (Circle the number that best reflects
your answer.)
1----------------------2--------------------3-----------------------4------------------5
Very
Somewhat
Neither Satisfied
Somewhat
Very
Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Nor Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied

0
Don’t
Know

9. How satisfied were you with the mentorship you provided your fellow? (Circle the number that best
reflects your answer.)
1----------------------2--------------------3-----------------------4------------------5
Not at all
Somewhat
Neither Satisfied
Somewhat
Extremely
Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Nor Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied

0
Don’t
Know

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation designed by GEARS Inc.
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Fellowship Program Resources
In answering the following questions, consider all your former fellows and their projects collectively.
1. How satisfied were you with the resources (hardware, software, office space, etc.) that your state
coastal zone management program was able to provide to your fellow(s)? (Circle the number that
best reflects your answer.)

1-------------------------2-------------------3-------------------4--------------------5
Very
Somewhat
Neither Satisfied
Somewhat
Very
Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Nor Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied

0
Don’t
Know

2. What types of training or support for both you and your fellow(s) could have improved your state
coastal zone management program’s overall experience with the fellowship program?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
3. How effective is the fellowship in improving, enhancing or augmenting coastal resource management
and policy for the state? (Circle the number that best reflects your answer.)
1--------------------2--------------------3--------------------4---------------------5
Not at all
Extremely
Effective
Effective

0
Don’t
Know

Please comment:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
4. In the future, how likely is it that your state would be able to contribute additional matching funds
towards fellows’ salaries and benefits (up from the current $7500 per year)? (Circle the number that
best reflects your answer.)
1--------------------2--------------------3--------------------4---------------------5
Not at all
Extremely
Likely
Likely

0
Don’t
Know

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Evaluation designed by GEARS Inc.
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Please comment:
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. If only three states were selected each year to host a fellow, would your state still apply?
___Yes ___No
6. To what extent were you satisfied with your state’s ability to address a high priority issue through the
fellowship program? (Circle the number that best reflects your answer.)

1-----------------------2-------------------3-----------------------4------------------5
Very
Somewhat
Neither Satisfied
Somewhat
Very
Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Nor Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied

0
Don’t
Know

7. To what extent did the fellowship program meet your state coastal zone management program’s
needs? (Circle the number that best reflects your answer.)

1---------------------2---------------------3---------------------4---------------------5
Not at all
A lot

0
Don’t know

Selection of Fellows and Operation of the Program
In answering the following questions, consider your current fellow and project.
1. Was the matching workshop an effective mechanism to select an individual with skills and
experiences necessary to complete your state’s project? Why or why not?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

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2. What can be done to ensure that there is a good fit between a fellow’s interests and expertise and the
state’s needs?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
3. In your opinion, was the amount and quality of communication between you and the Center
adequate?
___Yes ___No
If no, please describe how communication could have been improved.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
4. What factors contributed most to the successful completion of your state coastal zone management
program’s project?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. If you had to do it all again, would you choose to participate in the Coastal Management Fellowship
Program? (Circle the number that best reflects your answer.)
1---------------------2-------------------3---------------------4------------------------5
No,
Uncertain/
Yes,
absolutely not
Don’t Know
definitely
6. Overall, how satisfied were you with the product or outcome of your fellow’s project? (Circle the
number that best reflects your answer.)

1---------------------2-------------------3---------------------4----------------------5
Very
Somewhat
Neither Satisfied
Somewhat
Very
Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Nor Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied

0
Don’t
Know

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation designed by GEARS Inc.
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Fellows Training and Education
In answering the following questions, consider your current fellow and project.
1. How useful was the formal and on-the-job training provided to fellows during their fellowship
period? (Circle the number that best reflects your answer.)
1---------------------2---------------------3---------------------4----------------------5
Not at all
Extremely
Useful
Useful

0
Don’t
Know

2. How satisfied were you with the amount of contact you have had with your fellow during the
fellowship program? (Circle the number that best reflects your answer.)
1----------------------2--------------------3----------------------4--------------------5
Very
Somewhat
Neither Satisfied
Somewhat
Very
Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Nor Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied

0
Don’t
Know

3. How satisfied were you with the professional contacts your fellow made/developed during the
fellowship? (Circle the number that best reflects your answer.)
1---------------------2---------------------3-----------------------4------------------5
Very
Somewhat
Neither Satisfied
Somewhat
Very
Dissatisfied
Dissatisfied
Nor Dissatisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied

0
Don’t
Know

4. Has your state coastal zone management program been able to learn from other state coastal zone
management programs through fellow contacts?
___Yes ___No
Please explain:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
5. Overall, how effective was the Coastal Management Fellowship Program in providing training to post
graduate students in coastal resource management and policy? (Circle the number that best reflects
your answer.)

1---------------------2---------------------3---------------------4----------------------5
Not at all
Extremely
Effective
Effective

0
Don’t
Know

__________________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation designed by GEARS Inc.
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Fellowship Program: General Comments
Please provide your opinions, perspectives, and views for the following questions.
1. What were the strengths of the Coastal Management Fellowship Program for the states? For the
fellows?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. What were the weaknesses of the Coastal Management Fellowship Program?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

4. Overall, how would you rate the quality of the Coastal Management Fellowship Program? (Circle the
number that best reflects your answer.)
1---------------------2--------------------3--------------------4---------------------5
Poor
Excellent

0
Don’t Know

Thank you very much for your cooperation!

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