Transcript Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology Activities

Shaping of Public Environmental Policy:
User Community Impact
Samuel P. Williamson
Federal Coordinator for Meteorology
Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and
Supporting Research (OFCM)
Presentation for the Unidata 2003 Summer Users Workshop
June 26, 2003
Overview
• OFCM Background
• Federal Coordinating Infrastructure
• Shaping Public Environmental Policy
– A look at three possible methods
• Summary
Background
Historical Perspective
OFCM
Public Law 87-843 (1963)
1963
DOC Administrative Order
1964
OFCM formed in 1964
1979
GAO Study
Revitalizes OFCM
• Accountable to
Congress and OMB
• Coordinate agency
budgets
• Report budgets
and activities in
annual Federal
Plan
Background
Mission
To ensure the effective use of federal
meteorological resources by leading the
systematic coordination of operational
weather requirements, services, and
supporting research; among the federal
agencies
Background
Key Focus Areas--Agency Priorities
• Environmental Support
for Homeland Security
• Aviation Weather
• Space Weather
• Weather Information for
Surface Transportation
• Climate Analysis,
Monitoring and Services
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Cooperative Research
Observing Capabilities
Modeling and Prediction
Information Technology
and Communications
• Environmental Services
Coordinating Infrastructure
OFCM Partners
Departments of:
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Agriculture
Commerce
Defense
Energy
Homeland Security
• FEMA
• Coast Guard
• Interior
• State
• Transportation
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Independent agencies:
Environmental Protection Agency
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration
National Science Foundation
National Transportation Safety Board
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Executive Office of the President:
• Office of Management and Budget
• Office of Science and Technology Policy
Coordinating Infrastructure
Federal Committee for Meteorological Services and
Supporting Research (FCMSSR)
Federal Coordinator for Meteorology
Program Councils
Interdepartmental Committee for Meteorological
Services and Supporting Research (ICMSSR)
National Space
Weather Program
Standing Committees
Environmental Services,
Operations, and
Research Needs
Climate Analysis,
Monitoring and Services
Cooperative Research
Operational
Processing Centers
Environmental
Information Systems
and Communications
Integrated Observing
Systems
National Aviation
Weather Program
Working Group
for
Environmental
Support to
Homeland
Security
Methods to Shape Public Policy
• There are many ways for the user
community to influence public
environmental policy
• Three possible methods:
– User input to the OFCM interagency coordinating
infrastructure
– User input to such organizations as the National
Academies
– User input to scientific and professional
organizations/associations such as industry
consortiums, AMS, and NWA
User Community Impact on Policy:
A Public Program Example
Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD):
WSR-88D (Weather Surveillance Radar 88 Doppler)
• 158 operational weather radars
• located in 50 states plus
selected overseas locations
• estimated program cost of
3 billion dollars
• tri-agency effort guided
through an OFCM Program
Council
User Community Impact on Policy:
A Public Program Example
Reaction
Policy Input
• Public outcry for improved severe
• Doppler technology already
weather warnings:
– Negative lead-times
– High false alarm rates
– Affected multiple, large population
centers
– No chance for private sector to add
value
– Suggested solution viewed as too
costly and long
• Public/Private support gained:
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NEXRAD covered full needs
Kammer Commission
NIDS
Continued advanced development
Public outreach and education
Science Centers created
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available
Joint Doppler Operational Project
FCMSSR policy decision
OMB directed cross-cut review
OMB approved review study
• Program defined, funded, and
completed with long term funding
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System definition
– Validation and prototyping
– Limited and full production
– Deployment and commissioning
of the WSR-88D, Doppler Weather
Radar
User Community Impact on Policy:
Other Public Program Examples
• National Hurricane Operations Plan
• Improved Weather Reconnaissance System
• Automated Surface Observation System
• National Aviation Weather Program
• National Space Weather Program
• Selection and Evaluation of Atmospheric Transport and
Diffusion Models
• COOP Modernization Partners' Forum
• Weather Information for Surface Transportation
• U.S. Climate Change Science Program
• Integrated Global Observing System
User Community Impact on Policy:
Through Government Sponsored Organizations
• User input to such organizations as the:
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National Academies
– Chartered by Congress
• U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP)
– Sponsored by various Federal agencies
• U.S. Global Change Science Program (USCCSP)
– Cooperative effort among 13 governmental agencies
• National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)
– Cabinet-level Council...means for the President to coordinate
science, space, and technology
• Office of Science and Technology Programs (OSTP)
– Advise the President and others within the Executive Office of the
President…supports NSTC
User Community Impact on Policy:
Through Scientific and Professional Organizations/Associations
• User input to scientific and professional organizations/
associations such as industry consortiums or societies
– Open GIS Consortium
– The Intelligent Transportation Society of America
– American Meteorological Society
– National Weather Association
– UCAR's Office of Government Affairs
– Consortium of Social Science Associations
– The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• “Working with Congress”
http://www.aaas.org/spp/cstc/wwc/
User Community Impact on Policy:
Through Scientific and Professional Organizations/Associations
EXAMPLE
• Find the right group: Open GIS Consortium (OGC)
– Right members? International industry consortium of 257
companies, government agencies and universities
– Right goals? Develop publicly available geoprocessing
specifications
– Right objectives? Open interfaces and protocols support
interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the Web, wireless and
location-based services, and mainstream IT, and empower
technology developers to make complex spatial information and
services accessible and useful with all kinds of applications
– How do they try to make input to policy? One example...OGC
provided the Bush Transition Team with a white paper, "Advancing
Government through Interoperable Technologies."
User Community Impact on Policy:
Summary
• There are many ways for the user community to
influence environmental public policy…three
discussed
– User input to the OFCM interagency coordinating
infrastructure…workshops, forums, comment on
publicly circulated documents
– User input to such organizations as the National
Academy of Sciences…input to studies, comment on
publicly circulated documents
– User input to scientific and professional
organizations/associations such as industry
consortiums and AMS …input to group sponsored
policy papers, White Papers, etc. going to Congress or
White House
OFCM Web Site
Panel/Conference/Forum/
Workshop summaries and
presentations are available on
OFCM Web Site
Click on “Special Projects” and
navigate to the desired location
For Publications: Click on
“Publications”
http://www.ofcm.gov/
Coordinating Infrastructure
Roles / Responsibilities
• Federal Committee for Meteorological Services and
Supporting Research (FCMSSR)
– Sets policy and priorities
• Interdepartmental Committee for Meteorological Services
and Supporting Research (ICMSSR) and Program Councils
– Implement policy decisions
– Make policy recommendations to FCMSSR
– Assess adequacy of federal programs and guide implementation of
new interagency programs
• Standing Committees
– Document requirements, programs and activities to provide
framework for coordination and collaboration
– Perform analysis of agency programs to provide basis for national
leadership to allocate funds to meet requirements
Coordinating Infrastructure
OFCM Affiliations
National Research Council (NRC)
Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC)
Climate Research Committee (CRC)
University Corp. for
Atmospheric Research
(UCAR)
National Center for
Atmospheric Research
(NCAR)
US Weather Research
Program (USWRP)
American
Meteorological
Society (AMS)
US Climate
Change Science
Program
(USCCSP)
National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)
Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources (CENR)
Subcommittee on Natural Disaster Reduction (SNDR)
Coordinating Infrastructure
Example - Key Products, Outcomes, Results
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Annual Federal Plan for Meteorological Services and Supporting
Research
Annual Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference
National Hurricane Operations Plan
National Winter Storms Operations Plan
National Strategic and Implementation Plans for Space Weather,
Aviation Weather, and Weather Information for Surface Transportation
Federal Plan for Cooperative Support and Backup among Operational
Processing Centers
National Post-Storm Data Acquisition Plan
Directory of Atmospheric Transport and Diffusion Models
Federal Meteorological Handbooks
Requirement studies, summaries, evaluations and analyses
Crosscut reviews of federal weather programs
Program management of multi-agency programs (e.g., NEXRAD, ASOS)
Organize and host forums, symposia, and workshops addressing
national meteorological needs