Setting the scene: The Research and Environmental Policy Context What is the challenge?

1. 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 Research and Development

2. Meeting 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.

3. Access, Services ^ Capacity Building ^ Forecasts ^ Indicators ^ > Increasing Sources Of Data v v v Data To Useful Information v >

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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 User requirements well known From observations systems Not aware that observational Requirements are even needed To societal benefits

8. 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

9. Communities of practice are… Groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic by interacting on an ongoing basis Etienne Wenger Richard McDermott Bill Snyder Cultivating Communities of Practice, Harvard Business School Press, 2002

10. A GEOSS Users Community of Practice The Public & Public Officials

11. 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”

12. Observations Media Data AIRNow Data Management Center Decision Makers and Public 120+ State and Local Air Agencies Internet Maps and Forecasts Forecasts About 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

13. AIRNow Products • Real-time, hourly maps and data • Forecasts (300+ cities) • News stories, e.g. wildfires • Web cams (air quality) • Seasonal air comparisons

14. 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

15. 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

16. Data Needs Ambient Meteorology Emissions Models Satellite A vision of GEOSS for Air Quality Decisionmakers 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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 Requirements well known NOVICE USERS Not aware that observational Requirements are even needed To societal benefits

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. GEOSS Registries UDDI ebRS CSW Web UI Web UI SRU EXISTING GEOSS Standards GEOSS Components GEOSS Special Arrangements GEOSS Services may become reference offer expose nominate U.S.A. IEEE NEW USER Requirements GEO Task US-09-01a Gathering Observational Priorities UIC USER Types Who are they? USER Applications What do they do? User Engagement EPA/NASA/IEEE/ECMWF/ERG/U Nevada

24. USER ENGAGEMENT Registries UDDI ebRS CSW Web UI Web UI SRU EXISTING GEOSS Standards GEOSS Components GEOSS Special Arrangements GEOSS Services may become reference offer expose nominate U.S.A. IEEE NEW USER Requirements GEO Task US-09-01a Gathering Observational Priorities USER-FRIENDLY GCI ENTRY POINT UIC USER Types Who are they? USER Applications What do they do? User Engagement EPA/NASA/IEEE/ECMWF/ERG/U Nevada

25. Data Needs Ambient Meteorology Emissions Models Satellite A vision of GEOSS for Air Quality Decisionmakers 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

26. 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