Intended for use during the preparation and research before an engineering project, this core resource helps to identify non-engineering conditions that should be considered in designing and implementing sustainable infrastructure.
The Predictive Tool is a list of survey questions about various non-engineering conditions of a recipient community. It serves a dual-purpose: its results provide greater insight as to which non-technical influences impact the community the most, and the process of filling out the survey allows practitioners to examine and understand the client community more deeply.
Cultural - the influence of values and identities unique to a community
Political - the influence of power dynamics within a society
Educational - the desire to learn new concepts and acquire new knowledge
Mechanical - the capacity to keep technology running
Economic - the influence of monetary or material need
Specifically, the survey is 41 questions rated on a 5-point Likert scale to evaluate the relative influences of critical non-engineering conditions for the client community. These questions are for the practitioners to answer. Looking more deeply at a community will help engineers understand the values, beliefs, and identities that determine whether a society will accept, adopt and evolve the infrastructure they design.
1. Create an account on our old site at https://contextual.web.illinois.edu/register/.
2. Please wait up to a few days for us to approve your account. You should get an email notifcation once this happens.
3. Log in to our old site at https://contextual.web.illinois.edu/account/.
4. Click "Download the Predictive Text Tool" near the bottom of this page: https://contextual.web.illinois.edu/tool/.