Assessment of the NASA Applied Sciences Program (2007) / Chapter Skim
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NASA has decades of experience in applying its Earth observation products to weather forecasting, aviation, climate observations and modeling, famine early warning, monitoring ocean current and surface conditions, agricultural planning, emergency planning and response, and natural hazard monitoring, among others, primarily through partnerships with other federal agencies, academia, or the private sector. While many NASA programs conduct applied research using Earth observation data, the NASA Applied Sciences Program (ASP)
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As part of its assessment the committee examined ASP's partnerships, community engagement, processes used to extend research results to partners with decision-support functions, and its means to measure and ensure success in these partnerships. OVERVIEW In its examination of ASP the committee found an energetic, structured, and enterprising program enmeshed in complex and changing circumstances related to the emerging federal government commitment to realize societal benefits from Earth observing systems.
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clarify and broaden its policies regarding productive relationships and collaborations with the private sector, including but not limited to remote sensing data products. THE PROGRAM'S APPROACH The systems engineering approach adopted by the ASP in 2001 provided an operational framework involving evaluation, verification and validation, and benchmarking to focus results from research activities and data collection in various parts of the NASA organization toward applications supported by other federal agencies.
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The ASP currently coordinates its efforts over 12 Applications of National Priority: Agricultural Efficiency; Air Quality; Aviation; Carbon Management; Coastal Management; Disaster Management; Ecological Forecasting; Energy Management; Homeland Security; Invasive Species; Public Health; and Water Management. Once a potential partner agency for use and implementation of NASA data and research is identified, ASP and the partner agency then determine baseline information requirements, assess the potential value and technical feasibility of assimilating NASA information into the decision-support system (DSS)
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In the committee's discussions and exchanges with numerous federal agency partners and potential partners, it found that the federal sector has broadly received attention and support from ASP, but that the lack of formal processes to establish requirements, coordinate activities, and extend NASA research to partner operations has affected the overall success of the partnerships in applying DSS for societal benefits. The experiences between NASA ASP and its federal partners have also been very varied.
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The committee found that documentation of implementation processes and practices for applying NASA products to societal benefits are largely third-party evaluations, as opposed to evaluations that include input from the direct beneficiaries of the application of NASA products. Key documentation of DSS in the form of benchmark reports, while effective in providing guidance on the application of DSS, lacks critical input from the users of NASA data and models, especially from local governments and the private sector.
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The committee views ASP as a key asset for fulfilling the emerging national commitment to societal benefits. However, NASA does not involve ASP in the initial stages of mission planning in cases when societal benefits are anticipated.
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Direct relationships with nonfederal users are notably missing from ASP's portfolio and their absence limits ASP's potential to be responsive to the full base of potential users of NASA products. The community of users is far broader than other federal agencies alone and encompasses state, tribal, and local governments, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and academic researchers.
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The program's commitment, energy, and momentum offer significant potential for further impact. Building on a solid number of successes in helping to apply NASA products to social needs, ASP has embarked on a path since 2001 that adds rigor to its process and aims to enhance the efficiency of its role.
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