RESPEC PROJECT

Across the U.S., agencies are working to make environmental data more accessible, interoperable, and actionable. In New Mexico, a statewide water data catalog had the right goals—centralized access, shared resources, cross-agency collaboration—but the system fell short for the people who needed it most.

The Water Data Catalog, managed by the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR), was developed under the state’s Water Data Act as part of a broader initiative to make scientific water data publicly available. While the platform housed valuable datasets, its structure limited access and usability. Contributors struggled to publish their data. Users couldn’t easily find or understand what was available.

To address these issues, NMBGMR partnered with RESPEC to lead a structured review of the platform. The focus was on real-world functionality: how the system was being used, where it was breaking down, and what improvements would make it easier to navigate and maintain.

The process revealed a set of practical lessons that can inform other efforts to modernize public data systems.

Improving How the System Works in Practice

Start by understanding what’s actually happening. More than 50 users—from agency staff to researchers and planners—were interviewed or surveyed. Their feedback didn’t just confirm usability problems but revealed where assumptions in the original design no longer matched how people were actually using the system.

Look for the sticking points, not just the broken ones. A user experience review traced the full path of common tasks and highlighted where even small inefficiencies added up. Contributing data emerged as a major friction point. Unclear expectations and a lack of guidance made the process intimidating enough to discourage participation.

Trust is built through consistency, not just access. Improving layout, language, and navigation gave users a clearer sense of where to go and what to expect. Those small shifts made the catalog feel more reliable, which increased both usage and willingness to contribute.

The result was a clear, actionable roadmap that the state can use to guide updates and strengthen the system over time. By surfacing the right changes and aligning them with real user needs, the project gave NMBGMR a stronger foundation to support cross-agency collaboration, expand participation, and make water data more useful across the board.

“Fixing the website was only one part of the work,” said Jessica DuVerneay, RESPEC principal consultant and project lead. “We focused on building trust in the system, making it easier for people to contribute, and ensuring the data gets used to support better water decisions for New Mexico.”

New Mexico’s approach offers a model for rethinking how environmental data systems are built and used. By grounding improvements in real user needs, the state—supported by partners like RESPEC—is creating tools that invite participation, build trust, and lead to stronger outcomes for agencies, communities, and the natural systems they manage. As water challenges grow more complex, the ability to access and act on reliable data will be critical for long-term resilience.

Rethinking How Systems Serve People

If you’re working to improve a digital platform, streamline data workflows, or make complex systems easier to use, we can help. RESPEC partners with agencies and organizations to turn user insight into clear, actionable plans that lead to better tools and better outcomes.