setting the scene: the research and environmental policy context what is the challenge?
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EEA-USEPA Research linkages meeting September 23, 2004. Setting the scene: The Research and Environmental Policy Context What is the challenge?. The Office of Environmental Information and The Office of Research and Development. Meeting Objectives. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
EEA-USEPA Research linkages meeting
September 23, 2004
Setting the scene: The Research and Environmental Policy
Context
What is the challenge?
The Office of Environmental Information andThe Office of Environmental Information andThe Office of Research and DevelopmentThe Office of Research and Development
Meeting ObjectivesMeeting Objectives
•Support coherent policy/decision making in crosscutting environment and sustainability issues by
•Identifying research areas & linkages of common interest, and
•Pursuing joint implementation, coordination and dissemination, under the ECOinformatics initiative.
Access,
Services
^
Capacity
Building
^
Forecasts
^
Indicators
^
>
Increasing
Sources
Of Data
v
v
v
Data To Useful
Information
v
>
IT’S ALL ABOUT . . . . . . . . . ! ! ! ! ! . . . . ECOINFORMATICS . . . . ????IT’S ALL ABOUT . . . . . . . . . ! ! ! ! ! . . . . ECOINFORMATICS . . . . ????
26 January 2010 Gary J. Foley, PhD
Co-Chair, GEO User Interface Committee
Earth Observation Systems Executive
Senior Advisor to the EPA Chief Scientist
Office of the Science Advisor, EPA
It’s All About Decision-Making
• EPA makes decisions, requires some through regulations & policies to make decisions, and enables/empowers many to make voluntary decisions.
• Accountability starts with improved decision-making and ends with metrics showing the resulting Societal Benefits
• Research improves decision support tools and delivers data/information systems
It’s Starts and Ends with the Usersi.e. the Decision-Makers
• It starts with the engagement of a “spectrum” of relevant Users (decision-makers) to learn about what they do and what could help them do it better
• It ends with feedback from the Users on whether decision-making improved and the anticipated impacts/benefits were realized
THE SPECTRUM OF USERS
Earth observations & earth system models
Data-to-Information archiving & services
Decision support tool development
Decision making
Assessment of benefits
Earth system scientists and modelers
Earth system service providers
Environmental process modelers & researchers
Policy Makers & Environmental managers
Public officials, advocacy groups & the Public
From observations systems
To societal benefits
User requirements well known
Not aware that observational Requirements are even needed
It’s Starts and Ends with the Usersi.e. the Decision-Makers
• It starts with the engagement of a “spectrum” of relevant Users (decision-makers) to learn about what they do and what could help them do it better
• It ends with feedback from the Users on whether decision-making improved and the anticipated impacts/benefits were realized
Communities of practice are…
Etienne WengerRichard McDermottBill Snyder
Cultivating Communities of Practice, Harvard Business School Press, 2002
Groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic by interacting on an ongoing basis
A GEOSS Users Community of Practice
The Public &Public Officials
What are the Missing Pieces?
• Let’s use AirNOW as one “case study”
• Let’s use the GEOSS Common Infrastructure (GCI) as another “case study”
About AIRNowAbout AIRNow
• Began in 1997• Funded by United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA)• Diverse stakeholder community
– Federal, state, provincial, tribal and local air agencies (120+)
– Scientific and health research organizations (15+)– Media and public outreach groups (30+)
• Education and outreach• Substantial growth and data exchange• International activities
1997
2007
120+ State and 120+ State and Local Air Local Air Agencies Agencies
ObservationsObservations
Forecasts Forecasts
AIRNowAIRNowData Data
Management Management CenterCenter
InternetInternet
MediaMedia
DecisionDecisionMakers Makers
and and PublicPublic
Data Data
Maps and Maps and Forecasts Forecasts
AIRNow ProductsAIRNow Products
• Real-time, hourly maps and data
• Forecasts (300+ cities)• News stories, e.g.
wildfires• Web cams (air quality)• Seasonal air
comparisons
AIRNow’s “Human Side”AIRNow’s “Human Side”
It’s not just a system, it’s a community
• Annual conference• Regional cooperation• Daily interaction with stakeholders• Support during air quality events,
emergencies
• Leveraging state, local, and federal resources by collecting and distributing data back to
partners, as well as to media outlets
From AIRNow to GEOSS
• The AIRNow experience has taught us several lessons– Community is KEY – 40% technology, 60% people– The public wants environmental information, but
depends upon the community to interpret it– The community provides the context that lies between
the data and the public, e.g. Shanghai pilot
A vision of GEOSS for Air Quality Decisionmakers
Data Needs
Ambient Meteorology
Emissions Models
Satellite
Decision Makers
Policy maker assessing intercontinental transport
AQ manager assessing an exceptional event
Public planning activities today and tomorrow
Decision-makers depend on common observations and data
Three characteristics are crucial:
• “A group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.”
Etienne Wenger
• Domain . . . the concern, interest or passion• Community . . . who value the interactions,
often practitioners• Practice . . . sharing familiar experiences,
building a shared knowledge and learning
Usability Testing and the GCI
• Almost no one was testing the three GEO Portals and the GCI – WHY?
• Usability testing was sponsored by the UIC at ISRSE-33, via webex, at GEO-VI and at ESIP Winter meeting
• Almost 250 testers; good feedback• Reports to the IOC, the Portal Providers
and the ADC with feedback
THE SPECTRUM OF USERS
Earth observations & earth system models
Data-to-Information archiving & services
Decision support tool development
Decision making
Assessment of benefits
Earth system scientists and modelers
Earth system service providers
Environmental process modelers & researchers
Policy Makers & Environmental managers
Public officials, advocacy groups and the Public
From observations
To societal benefits
Requirements well known
Not aware that observational Requirements are even needed
NOVICE USERS
The “Novice” User
• science-to-policy analysts, decision makers, public officials, & the public
• working/interested in specific issues that fall within one or more SBAs
• not SOA- or GEOSS-experienced• looking for any and all observational
data relevant to their issues• want to easily find it and view it
The “Novice” User
For the Novice User, EPA believes
• The GEOSS Common Infrastructure is not YET user friendly
• Metadata is important, but not useful
• Components (data/services) need to provide sample data sets for easy viewing geographically
GEOSS Ontology – Missing!
• Searches using the Portals do not work!
• The Standards underpinning the GCI did not include using a standardized ontology/vocabulary/thesaurus-based set of keywords
• The components, services and clearing-houses are not search engine friendly
GEOSSComponents
GEOSSServices
GEOSSStandards
GEOSS Special Arrangements
exposereference
maybecome
nominateoffer
GEOSS Registries
U.S.A. IEEE
UDDI ebRS CSW SRU Web UIWeb UI
USERApplications
What do they do?
USERTypes
Who are they?
USERRequirements
User EngagementUIC
EPA/NASA/IEEE/ECMWF/ERG/U Nevada
GEO TaskUS-09-01aGathering
ObservationalPriorities
EXISTIN
G
NEW
GEOSSComponents
GEOSSServices
GEOSSStandards
GEOSS Special Arrangements
exposereference
maybecome
nominateoffer
USER ENGAGEMENT Registries
U.S.A. IEEE
UDDI ebRS CSW SRU Web UIWeb UI
USERApplications
What do they do?
USERTypes
Who are they?
USERRequirements
User EngagementUIC
EPA/NASA/IEEE/ECMWF/ERG/U Nevada
GEO TaskUS-09-01aGathering
ObservationalPriorities
EXISTIN
G
NEW USER-FRIENDLY
GCI ENTRY POINT
A vision of GEOSS for Air Quality Decisionmakers
Data Needs
Ambient Meteorology
Emissions Models
Satellite
Decision Makers
Policy maker assessing intercontinental transport
AQ manager assessing an exceptional event
Public planning activities today and tomorrow
Decision-makers depend on common observations and data
It’s All About . . . .
• Decision Making, i.e . . . .• Engaging the “Novice” User• A User-friendly “engaging” GCI entry point• Building a Community . . . Supports DMs• Understanding “Decision Support” • An Information Delivery System > Maps/GIS• Based on a GEOSS Ontology, etc. • Regular usabilitiy testing and feedback