Observing Weather and Climate from the Ground Up A Nationwide Network of Networks (2009) / Chapter Skim
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7 Organizational Attributes and Options for a Fully Integrated NoN that Meets Multiple National Needs
7 Organizational Attributes and Options for a Fully Integrated NoN that Meets Multiple National Needs
Pages 149-167
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From page 149... ...
Regardless of the enterprise involved, there are common technical, logistical, and financial challenges associated with the operation of mesoscale networks. Numerous successful networks, both public and private, have surmounted such barriers, especially at local and regional levels, and also within federal agencies to some considerable degree.
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From page 150... ...
TABLE 7.1 Models distinguished by ownership and data distribution Type of Network Examples Description Publicly owned, ASOS, NEXRAD, Typically thought of as the backbone Public data RAWS of public meteorological networks Publicly owned, DoD, HS Public networks where information is Private data not shared for a variety of reasons Academically owned, LIDAR, Ag networks, R&D networks where the intellectual IP defined NEON property defines the data ownership Privately owned, AWS, NLDN, TV Privately owned proprietary data Private data Radar Privately owned, CWOP, MDCRS, Privately owned networks that share Public data CoCoRaHS data voluntarily
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From page 151... ...
KEY ATTRIBUTES OF AN IDEALIZED NETWORK OF NETWORKS A NoN requires an organizational model with qualities and characteristics of the successful networks mentioned above, but goes further to encompass a national, multi-purpose scope. These attributes include:
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From page 152... ...
LOCAL ISSUES VERSUS NATIONAL NoN OPPORTUNITIES Most existing networks inadvertently create or otherwise experience impediments that are inconsistent with overarching national needs for a mesoscale observing system. Many of these can be solved in a straightforward manner if prevailing thought can be shifted from a strictly local reward system to a more global one.
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From page 153... ...
A viable business practice would set standards for and maintain a genuinely accessible and useable national database for all major applications. Core versus Context of Partner Organizations Certain organizations view mesoscale weather networks as an essential part of their "core" business or competency.
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From page 154... ...
The fabric of society is very complex in these respects, and such circumstances require individual attention. A viable business model should include legal empowerment to negotiate data access and to facilitate data restrictions on a case-by-case basis.
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From page 155... ...
However, the scope of the combined federal agency missions and the implied observational infrastructure fall well short
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From page 156... ...
Tier II: State and Local Government Agencies, Publicly and Privately Operated Authorities, and Districts State and local organizations make extensive use of mesoscale data. This information is critical to routine decisions for law enforcement, surface transportation, roadway safety, flood hazards, water and air quality monitoring and warnings, flood control, operation of dams and spillways, fire weather monitoring and prediction, avalanche control, debris flow forecasts, drought monitoring, agricultural outlooks and warnings, etc.
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From page 157... ...
Federal incentives in the form of cost sharing should be provided to state and local organizations, which could fill critical gaps and enhance the overall quality and consistency of mesoscale monitoring. Such cost sharing, together with nonremunerative enablement services, is a critical pathway toward a national mesoscale monitoring capability.
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From page 158... ...
In the Committee's judgment, none of the existing networks or their organizational models were envisioned to meet the needs of a multitude of national providers and users having diverse interests and requirements. Below we discuss some desired organizational characteristics that could facilitate the functions previously described in Chapter 6 and the preceding sections.
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From page 159... ...
User-valued services include consolidated datasets, uniform and complete metadata, and data quality-checking measures. Categories of Models Considered At least eight broad categories of organizational models may be considered for a NoN.
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From page 160... ...
• Publicly Chartered, Private Non Profit Corporation. Similar to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Public Radio, and the U.S.
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From page 161... ...
Organization Options Dismissed Lead Federal Agency A single federal agency has a congressionally authorized mission that is quite narrow with respect to the mesoscale observations enterprise. To obtain authorization to perform the work of a centralized authority for the NoN would be controversial at best, peripheral to core programs of the agency, and possibly prohibited by statute, and it presents difficulties with respect to the transfer of funds and other resources among many types of public and private organizations.
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From page 162... ...
The concatenated agency missions cut a broad swath through the NoN constituency. Agency representatives could form an effective joint management team, though historically agencies have had difficulty with decentralized funding authority beyond partnerships of two or three agencies.
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From page 163... ...
Mesoscale observations have a more diverse set of funding sources, which could be used either as an argument for or against the federal confederation model. The major weakness of the confederation model lies in the likely deficiency of public-private partnerships, which are required for success, where success is defined as meeting the needs of the broader enterprise, not just the concatenation of the federal missions.
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From page 164... ...
It is easy to envision data providers voluntarily putting together a Wiki-type library of data resources to enable users to find the data they would like. Such a model would have low administrative costs.
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From page 165... ...
edu) , which has been a force in atmospheric data distribution development and services.
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From page 166... ...
As a publicly chartered corporation, CEM would collect revenue from users of a NoN and apply these to offset operational expenses. Federal funds would be used to facilitate the establishment and provision of essential core services and to support performance incentives associated with the NoN, for example in the generation of metadata.
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From page 167... ...
It is easy to envision this hybrid non profit corporation, formed for the expressed purpose of coordinating the operation of environmental monitoring networks, collecting data, charging users of those observations for their use, and using the fees to fund the data collection. Federal, state, and local governmental initiatives could expand the NoN and offer incentives to others for the provision of additional observations that are carefully targeted to fill critical national needs.
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