Transcript Document

Building Partnerships between the
Academy and
Private Sector Meteorology
John T. Snow
College of Geosciences
The University of Oklahoma
In the last 20 years, forecasts of
future weather have improved
dramatically due to …
… enhanced understanding
of Earth's atmosphere,
… better observing systems,
and
… faster computers
Today's improved forecasts support the traditional
applications of …
… Providing vital warnings about severe and
hazardous weather, helping to protect lives and
mitigate property loss
… Supporting critical aviation and marine
transport
These are traditional roles for the National Weather
Service, as mandated by the Congress
Today’s improved forecasts also support a host of new
and improved applications in private industry to …
… increase efficiency of operations, and
… enhance economic competitiveness while reducing
risk
Servicing this growing demand for weather information
is the role of the private sector
Weather sensitive industries are recognizing the value of
incorporating weather information into decision cycles
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Most decision processes are cyclic, often contain time-critical
elements; key information must be current and available exactly
when needed  asynchronous
Most decisions are made by non-meteorologists  minimize
interpretation, discussion of the delivered information package
Most decisions are focused on small regions; need to inter-relate
weather information with distribution of infrastructure,
demographics, etc… at county, watershed, plume level  GIS
format
Rare but extreme events often the critical item! (at same time,
must keep broader perspective, e.g., 3 May 99 events outside OKC)
Fundamental question: Where can weather information can make
a significant difference in a decision process?
Bottomline:
Modern meteorological products and services have great
potential for significantly enhancing business decisions
IF those products and services are correctly tailored to
support the relevant decision processes
Question: How do private sector meteorologists best take
advantage of this rapidly evolving situation?
Parts of the answer:
• Move beyond repackaging to developing capabilities to
produce own products and services
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R&D driven by the private sector since they are the
interface to the customer
Public Sector vis-a-vis the Academy
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Private Sector Meteorology by and large continues to use
modern technology “to do old things better”  tailoring of
existing products from federal government
New generation of meteorologists in universities looking for
opportunities to use modern technology “to do new things” 
design of new products and services
Private Sector Meteorology has little internal research
capability; has largely relied on informal tech transfer of
federally funded research
Universities desire to grow research base by partnering with
private industry, but communication can be a challenge
NEEDED – A New Paradigm: Universities and Private
Sector Meteorology must approach weather-related
R&D as partners
The Diverse Private Sector
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Commercial Forecasting Firms provide industry-specific
forecasts and consulting services
Data Providers obtain data from government, repackage it and
pass it on to the public, other users
Media communicate data to general public
Instrument manufacturers provide observing equipment
Government contractors provide a range of supporting
services to the federal government
Largely Missing: Modelers, Observing Systems
What do Universities Bring to the Table?
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Students – the “best and brightest” from all around the world
Stimulating intellectual environment
– Unique blend of education, research, and operations
– Proximity to key federal facilities
– Visitors, seminars, conferences, etc...
– Breadth - multi-disciplinary expertise, specialty areas, “human dimension”
Facilities, including massive computational resources
Entrepreneurial spirit
– Funding opportunities, leveraging of research funds
Access to new ideas, new technology
Role of “honest broker” between federal, state, and local governments and the
private sector (neutral territory)
Negatives: Universities seldom do anything very quickly; bureaucratic; often
internally very territorial; faculty are individualistic, self-made entrepreneurs
What Do Universities Need from
Private Industry?
• Funding
• Access to private sector data and data gathering
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facilities
Internships, trainee-ships for students
Collaborative arrangements to access private
sector employees and provide professional
opportunities for university employees
Return on prior investments in R&D in terms of
technology transfer and local economic
development
Mechanisms 1, 2, 3
• Donations
• Grants
• Contracts
These are various types of traditional
relationships between a university and a private
sector entity, but they do not represent, by
themselves, partnerships
Mechanisms 4 and 5
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Co-operative Agreement – an arrangement with one entity
Consortium – a joint arrangement with multiple entities
– Built around a limited number of specific “research themes” focused on
topics of mutual interest
– Private sector partner(s) guarantee(s) a certain level of core funding;
other funds provided on a project- by-project basis; leverages third-party
funds obtained via competitive grants and contracts
– 5-year agreement, renewable  continuity
– Private sector partner(s) get(s) advantage of a collaboration with
minimum upfront investment; recovers investment through reduced
University Indirect Cost (overhead) on specific research projects
By their nature, these require active participation of all involved 
partnership
Important Details
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Intellectual Property management
Security of proprietary materials, techniques
Publication
Start-up details
Size of core staff – minimize administration, maximize
researcher, post-doc, student support
Detailing of private sector staff
– Special product development
– In-house “sabbaticals”
Relationships with other university programs – in-house
collaboration, not competition
Challenges 1
• Conquering “the not invented here syndrome”
– Must eliminate the insecurities that perceives external input
to an organization as a threat
– Come to see research as a continuum stretching from
basic/fundamental to prototyping/beta-testing to operational
applications, with both universities and private sector
having roles to play
• Overcoming the territorial mentality common in
both private sector and universities
– Organizations with strong territoriality are poorly adapted
to working in a systems context, or across traditional
boundaries
Challenges 2
• Crossing the “Valley of Death” – the transition
from research results to operational practice
– Traditional “over the transom” approach very slow, very
inefficient  partnership effort necessary for efficient,
timely transfer
– From the outset of a research project, establish ownership
of intellectual property and have a formal tech transfer plan
detailing how the results will be infused into the sponsor’s
operations
– Be open to a variety of approaches – workshops,
experimental forecast facilities, etc…
– Insure that all players are recognized and rewarded
What Does It Take to Make a University
– Private Sector Partnership Work?
• Complimentary working relationship between
private sector and university  insures that
results are market-oriented
• Critical mass of faculty, professional staff,
students + private sector staff  intellectual
capital
• Intellectual leadership with a commercial
orientation  willingness to undertake a
market-driven research and development
agenda within the University
Potential Research Themes On Which
Universities and Private Sector Could
Partner – a University View
• Flexible environmental observing systems to supplement, extend
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national systems – smart sensors, adaptive observing networks,
intelligent agents
GIS-based integrated display and analysis systems to simplify
transport of information to a wide variety of customers
Decision support systems for a broad range of customers
High resolution, extended capability radars
Asynchronous predictions at storm- and meso-scale
Seasonal and interannual climate
Agriculture and bio-meteorology
How can Private Sector Companies
Promote Partnerships with Universities?
• Articulate a research agenda and establish goals
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and priorities; disseminate to the university
community
Support open publication of research results
Develop mechanisms for sharing people, e.g.,
model the IPA program
Co-locate appropriate facilities, with a secondary
mission of developing partnerships
Awareness  Interactions  Collaborations
Challenge to Universities: Re-Invent
Meteorology as an Engineering Discipline
Refocus on design and construction of products and services based
on accumulated knowledge of last 50 years of research +
inexpensive computing power + telecommunications
– Understanding of the user’s needs is a critical factor
– Multidisciplinary, systems approach – the weather is likely
only one factor in a complex management equation
– Combine understanding of the atmosphere with …
… Powerful, affordable computing technology  decision
support models can be very sophisticated
… Communication and analysis tools that allow vast
amounts of information to be considered quickly
John T. Snow
Dean, College of Geosciences
The University of Oklahoma
Sarkeys Energy Center, Suite 710
100 E. Boyd St.
Norman, Oklahoma 73019
Tel: 405-325-3101
FAX: 405-325-3148
[email protected]
http://geosciences.ou.edu/