Business Planning Guidance

The Ocean.US Guidance is also available as an
Adobe PDF • Word Document • Open Document

The SECOORA Outline is also available as an
Adobe PDF • Word Document • Open Document

BUSINESS PLAN FOR IOOS REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

FORMATE AND GUIDELINES

12 August, 2004

Executive Summary

Highlight goals and objectives, benefits, funding strategy, methods and procedures, and performance metrics.

1. Introduction

The introduction is intended to provide background and context for the business plan. It should communicate the following:

• Roles of the Regional Coastal Ocean Observing System (RCOOS) in the sustained development of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), including the importance of the Regional Association (RA) as a forum for enabling user groups and private sector data and product providers, consistent with the governance plan, to influence the design and development of the IOOS;

• A summary statement concerning the process or mechanism by which the RA will engage in the four-year planning cycle of Ocean.US¹;

• The relationship between the RA’s governance plan and implementation of this plan; and

• The processes that will be used to update this plan and improve the RCOOS.

• A brief description of the RCOOS assets and partners.

2. Goals and Objectives

Initially, goals and objectives must relate to one or more of the seven societal goals clearly and explicitly.¹ Ultimately, the intent is for the RA’s goals to attempt to address all seven of the societal goals. They must be consistent with IOOS design principles¹and with the RA’s governance plan. Objectives should clearly relate to the RA’s immediate priorities for establishing and meeting user requirements for data and information on the coastal and ocean environment within the region, for considering and, as appropriate, integrating private sector data and products, for improving education and outreach, for assuring data management and communications, and for contributing to the IOOS as a whole.

3. Needs, Benefits, Product Development and Marketing

This section should describe what sectors of society will benefit and how. The sustainability of the IOOS depends on the provision of data and information needed by a cross section of user groups for multiple applications, as well as appropriate coordination and integration with private sector data and product providers. Explain how this will be achieved through the RA by the development of the RCOOS and through partnerships with related and relevant programs in the region to meet the needs users have identified. The immediate objective should be to engage non-academic user and provider groups in product development that will guide design and implementation of the observing system. The long-term goal should be to diversify the user base.

In addition, this section should (1) link objectives to benefits and product development; (2) present a five-year plan for product development in and marketing of RCOOS data and information; and (3) identify the short- and long-term contributions to the IOOS as a whole. It should also briefly describe how the groups below may be involved as data providers (implementers and operators of the system), data users (value added applications) and/or sources of new technologies and knowledge:

• Academic and research institutions,
• For profit groups from the private sector,
• Education and outreach,
• Non-governmental organizations,
• Government entities at every level with responsibilities for areas such as public health, environmental protection, resource management, coastal zone management, or coastal engineering.

Lastly, it should describe how these interests will be accommodated and nurtured by the RA, and what steps will be taken to involve these groups in the design, implementation and evolution of the IOOS.

4. Linking Observations to Models and Other Products

The initial observing system will not provide all of the data and information required to achieve the goals of the RA. This section should show how current assets and those that will be acquired in the short-term (1-5 years) will be used to achieve the RA’s objectives (section 2 above). A gap analysis should be used to compare current capabilities with those required to achieve long-term goals (section 8 below).

This section describes the observing, data management and communication, and data analysis and modeling subsystems and how they will be efficiently linked and developed to achieve objectives. A plan should be given for acquiring, ingesting and distributing data at rates and in forms needed by user groups in the region. The plan should commit to the use of nationally established guidelines and criteria, including standards and protocols for measurements, data management and communications, and products, and ensure their implementation.

4.1 Observations and Data Transmission

The sampling program of the observing subsystem should provide sufficient geographic coverage within a region (alongshore, cross-shelf, semi-enclosed bodies of water as appropriate) as well as provide measurements of a broad suite of physical, biological and geochemical parameters that will support diverse needs.

A strategy that details the operational plan, including real-time support and maintenance of the observational infrastructure (both in situ assets and information dissemination), should be provided, as well as identification of evaluation mechanisms to ensure that the plan is responsive to user needs. An adequate operations plan should include

• establishing or identifying an operations center for oversight of all the observing elements;
• assigning staff to oversee the operation and be ready to respond to changes in the system, such as automatic notifications, communications, and emergency response plan; and
• backup instruments and sensors – especially for critical observations that affect national and homeland security, safe navigation, and emergency response.

Requirements for observations, such as variables to be measured, time and space resolution, and data collection interval and rate, will be identified in this plan.

One and five year plans for incorporating and enhancing existing assets, both regionally and in the context of the national backbone, which include techniques (platforms, sensors, and methods), responsible entity (agency, academic, state, local COOS), support cost, location, parameters measured, user group which benefits, should be developed and updated annually. The purpose of these plans is to specify observational requirements, such as time-space resolution, precision and accuracy, existing assets, and gaps (i.e., the difference between requirements and capabilities), as well as the requirements for data transmission (such as 24/7 operations or delayed transmission). The 5-yr plan will help in future budgeting and in assessing the adequacy of the observing plan during the start-up years.

4.2 Data Management and Communications

This section should detail how data will be collected, integrated among the elements of the RCOOS, stored and archived, verified and certified, and retrieved and disseminated, as well as the integrity of the data and products guaranteed in the short and long terms.

The plan should describe the kinds of data to be processed and data sources, current capabilities for data management and communications (DMAC), and how the regional effort will interface with the national DMAC program and conform to DMAC standards and protocols developed under the auspices of the NORLC through Ocean.US.³

4.3 Data Analysis

User requirements for data, information, and products should be identified. The current capabilities (in terms of data assimilation, GIS, statistical and numerical modeling) of the RA’s subsystem in terms of serving data and information at rates and in forms specified by user groups should be described. The plan should include plans for calibration, validation, and inter-calibration as needed. An annually updated five-year plan should be prepared to detail how it is envisioned that capacity will be increased through model development, transitioning research models to operational models, and other such products.

4.4 Data Products

Many of the people and organizations involved with an RA are more interested in the information and data products that come from the data than the data themselves. It is important, therefore, that provision be made for insuring that the data products coming from the RA are made available to users and for coordinating with private sector data production. It is important to describe, therefore, who will undertake this task and how it will be accomplished.

5. Research and Development

5.1 Priorities

Describe current operational capabilities relative to objectives and goals of the RA. Identify priorities for research and pilot projects needed to improve the observing system to achieve objectives and goals.

5.2 High Priority Projects

Identify the research that should be initiated, explain its purpose, and estimate the cost? List the research activities that should be transitioned into pilot projects and provide a rational that justifies the transition and a cost estimate. Indicate if these are funded and if not, describe a plan for acquiring the required funds.

6. Training

Describe plans for growing the workforce of trained system operators and how the user community will be trained to access the data, information, and/or products.

7. Funding

Present a plan for obtaining, increasing, sustaining, and diversifying revenues for system design, implementation, operation, and improvement, including the process or mechanism by which the RA will engage in the four-year planning cycle of Ocean.US¹ .

7.1. Budget

Each year, a five-year budget plan will be developed which includes a detailed, priority-based budget for the next year and out year budgets in less detail for an additional four years. The budget plan should include

(1) operating costs for the RA management office and its activities;

(2) operating costs for maintaining and sustaining the infrastructure;

(3) support for building the capacity for the RCOOS, including technology and product development;

(4) costs to transition promising user-needs focused research or pilot projects to pre-operational and operational; and

(5) system engineering and capital costs.

The budget should be further broken down into research projects, pilot projects and pre-operational activities as appropriate. Provisions should be made for education and outreach activities, cost-benefit studies, and support to ensure adequate participation by state agencies, private sectors, NGOs, and regionally organized federal programs.

7.2 Planning and Budget Development

Each RA will describe an annual planning and budgeting cycle that is in synchrony with the Ocean.US cycle described in Part I of the IOOS Development Plan¹ and involves both data providers and users from private sectors, state agencies, regionally organized federal programs, NGOs, and academia.

7.3 Income

Current sources of funding for the RA must be identified, including support received by partners through other means, such as in-kind contributions. Present a plan for diversifying the funding base and partnering with other programs or groups. Describe projected sources of funding and their status (e.g., committed; proposal submitted, in preparation or planned). Projected income distribution should be broken done in terms of support for RA activities (administration, personnel), support for operational infrastructure (including maintenance, and improvements), and support for research, pilot- and pre-operational projects.

8. System Performance

The evaluation of the system is critical to its continued improvement, and the plan should identify milestones and metrics to be used in evaluating the success of the system and its elements on a regular schedule.

8.1 Maintaining Operational Continuity

Procedures for sustaining continuity should be developed and included in the plan. A process to monitor the flow of data and information among observing, DMAC, and data analysis and modeling subsystems is critical. These procedures should also include appropriate calibration and servicing approaches for sensors.

8.2 User Satisfaction

A self-assessment mechanism must be instituted whereby users can address, on a recurring basis, the adequacy of the system as a whole and the subsystems in particular. The mechanism should include procedures for obtaining and responding to user feedback concerning timely delivery, quality, and usefulness of products; identify the measures taken to improve user satisfaction; and an evaluation of the effectiveness of those measures. Endorsements of the IOOS and the process created to implement it are important. They are often testimonies of the importance of the system to stakeholders. Endorsements and success stories should be maintained by the RA and copies provided to the NFRA and Ocean.US.

8.3 Gap Analysis

The purpose of this section is to identify deficiencies (i.e., sampling program, variables measured, rate at which data and information are delivered) and establish priorities for addressing them based on an assessment of current capabilities against the infrastructure required to achieve the goals of the RA.

8.4 Cost/Benefit

This section should describe how the value of the system will be periodically measured and assessed in terms of operational costs.

FOOTNOTES

¹ IOOS Development Plan, Part I (www.ocean.us)

² Goals are desired outcomes or end results to be achieved over the long term. Objectives are specific actions to be taken over specified periods of time to achieve the goals. The strategic plan describes how these objectives will be achieved in the context of long-term goals

³ The plan must show that regional data management and communications activities will meet DMAC requirements for interoperability and provide a 5 year timetable with milestones for meeting these requirements. This includes a description of how IOOS DMAC standards and protocols will be met in the following areas: (1) quality assurance/quality control, (2) serving real time data, (3) archival, (4) metadata management, and (5) product generation.

The SECOORA Outline is also available as an
Adobe PDF • Word Document • Open Document

SECOORA Business Plan Outline

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 Business Concept/Mission Summary

1.2 Governance Plan Summary

1.3 Operating Plan Summary

1.4 Marketing & Communications Plan Summary

1.5 Financial Plan Summary

1.6 Update Process

This section will be compiled after document is completed.

2.0 BUSINESS CONCEPT/MISSION

2.1 SECOORA Identification

The name of this organization is the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (and referred to here as SECOORA). This organization shall be a nonprofit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of South Carolina.

2.2 Mission Statement

SECOORA is to be designed, implemented and operated as a not-for-profit entity to provide data, information and products on marine and estuarine systems deemed necessary to the users in a common manner and according to sound scientific practice. SECOORA will serve the needs of users with measurements and data transmission, data management and communications, and data analysis and modeling. SECOORA will include the infrastructure and expertise required for this system.

The purpose of SECOORA is to:

• represent the interests of those that use, depend on, study and manage coastal environments and their resources in the southeast region;
• be a legal entity that provides a fiscal agent with final responsibility for acceptance and expenditure of funds according to the rules of grantors of the funds, insurability, and the ability to enter into enforceable contracts;
• represent a partnership or consortium of data providers and users from state and federal agencies, private industry, non-governmental institutions and academia:
• provide a means by which the Regional Association and the public at large benefit from and contribute to the development and sustained operation of an integrated ocean observing system for the open ocean (to the EEZ boundary) and the regional estuaries;
• ensure continued and routine flow of data and information and the evolution of SECOORA to adapt to the needs of the user groups and the timely incorporation of new technologies and understanding based on these needs.

2.3 Location

The geographic extent of SECOORA is the coastal zone and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the region to include North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The region of western Florida along the Gulf of Mexico is part of SECOORA and the Gulf of Mexico Regional Association. This joint designation reflects the overlapping and interrelated nature of regions. The coastal zone extends inland to the end of tidal affects in estuaries. There are other regional coastal ocean observing systems along the Mid-Atlantic and Gulf coasts that SECOORA will coordinate with including the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (MACOORA), the Caribbean Regional Association (CaRA), and the Gulf Coast Ocean Observing System (GCOOS).

2.4 Role of SECOORA in IOOS

The mission of SECOORA is to coordinate and support the development, implementation, and operation of a regional coastal ocean observing system (RCOOS), as part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), and to provide data and data products regarding the ocean to a diversity of users in a timely fashion, on spatial and temporal scales appropriate for their needs. SECOORA will operate to support the seven societal goals defined by IOOS including:

1. More effectively mitigate the effects of natural hazards
2. Reduce public health risks
3. Improve the safety and efficiency of maritime operations
4. Improve predictions of climate change and weather and their effects on coastal communities and the nation
5. Enable the sustained use of ocean and coastal resources
6. Improve national and homeland security
7. More effectively protect and restore healthy coastal ecosystems

The RCOOS that SECOORA will initiate, capitalize, manage and improve over time is meant to supplement the national coastal backbone observing capabilities provided by various federal agencies in the southeast (e.g., NOAA buoys and CMAN stations, NOAA P.O.R.T.S. systems, USGS stream gauges, USACE wave stations, etc.).

As the IOOS is initially implemented, it is vital that its essential components, the national backbone and the RCOOSs, develop and maintain a high level of interoperability. For data and information flow, sets of standards must be established that enable data sharing among all components, and a common set of tools and applications will be needed to enable seamless data discovery, archiving, and transfer. This work has begun with the OceanUS DMAC plan and will continue. SECOORA will participate as active participants in the national process. There will also be ongoing coordination on governance issues. Many federal agencies, regional councils, private industries and user groups have boundaries that do not align with those of the nascent regional associations, necessitating national coordination and cooperation among regions.

2.5 SECOORA Products & Services

Supplementing existing and future backbone observing elements provided by federal agencies, SECOORA will be a heterogeneous, distributed system of linked elements, servers, platforms, and sensors, originally based on existing ocean observing and monitoring efforts, with organizational structures and interfaces developed where common good is identified. SECOORA will coordinate the observing system within the region and will complement the national IOOS. SECOORA will integrate and coordinate assigned elements to provide the following capabilities:

• Observations on spatial and temporal scales appropriate for a diversity of end users’ needs,
• User interface and support, including outreach,
• Data and information management,
• Models, including data-assimilation,
• Long-term research to advance the observing system,
• Technology development to support SECOORA objectives,
• Open access to data and information products such as nowcasts, forecasts and maps to meet a diversity of user needs.

Further, SECOORA may foster and integrate linkages among any other member elements related to these capabilities. Primary elements, along with associated activities are listed below:

2.5.1 Observing System

Observing systems provide the nucleus of any environmental information system. The deployment of the SECOORA Regional Coastal Ocean Observing System (RCOOS) assets will complement the federal coastal ocean environmental monitoring system, or the “national backbone” (the plans for which are currently under development). The RCOOS will utilize several types of instrument systems, including in situ moored or fixed installations; drifters, profilers, gliders, and autonomous underwater vehicles; coastal installations; remote sensing from satellites and aircraft; and shore-based remote sensing with radar. Evaluating and incorporating emerging technologies will be an important function for the RCOOS. While the initial sensor focus is primarily on physical variables, developing technologies show promise for a variety of chemical and biological sensors in the foreseeable future that will be important for addressing regional water quality and ecosystem and fisheries management issues.

Major activities will include:

• Augmenting, based on sound scientific rationale, the core observations of the “national backbone” for the region encompassing the watersheds to the boundaries of the EEZ.
• Planning and coordinating the deployment of observing system assets to promote efficient use of regional resources and infrastructure.
• Promoting appropriate standardization and calibration practices for instrumentation.
• Providing operational test-beds for new sensing systems as candidates for incorporation into the “national backbone," the regional observing systems, or the research “observatories”.
• Developing and improving observing system infrastructure (e.g., instrument deployment, power and communications systems).
• Providing data and data products for the purposes of ocean state variable description, gauging model performance, and assimilation into operational models.

2.5.2 Modeling System

Modeling is an essential component of an environmental information system. It provides a means for dynamical interpolation of inevitably sparse and incomplete observations, is fundamental to many research applications, and is the basis for coastal ocean predictions (i.e., simulations, hindcasts, nowcasts, and forecasts). Thus, a range of activities will be undertaken by the SECOORA modeling element. This will include the development of diagnostic software (for kinematical, dynamical, and energetics analyses) that will be used in system analysis products. For societal applications, there will be an emphasis on the equivalent of “weather charts” for the coastal ocean.

Major activities will include:

• Integration of oceanic and atmospheric observations in the SECOORA region through state-of-the-art regional circulation and wave models to provide physical coastal ocean state variable estimates.
• Implementation and assessment of modeling approaches that include biogeochemical and ecological quantities relevant to the SECOORA domain.
• Coupling the SECOORA regional with larger scale models to capture non-locally forced phenomena.
• Coupling the SECOORA regional with smaller scale estuarine and coastal lagoonal models to examine estuarine/shelf interactions.
• Conducting validation experiments to quantitatively examine model behaviors against observed data and to assess model strengths and weaknesses.
• Conducting data assimilation experiments for the purposes of improving model performance.
• Establishing, maintaining, and upgrading nowcast/forecast systems and its web-based delivery.
• Aiding in observing system design through the conduct of Observing System Experiments (OSEs) and Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs).
• Conducting regional and larger scale Coastal Ocean Data Assimilation Experiments (CODAE).
• As the modeling elements progress, work toward fully coupled coastal ocean, atmospheric, and terrestrial models in the context of an earth system science approach to environmental modeling.

2.5.3 Data Management & Communications

By linking the distributed sets of observing and modeling system activities and providing the connection to both external and internal users, information management will play a central role in SECOORA. The SECOORA information dissemination system will be web-based and utilize the methods of modern information management, including GIS, animations, other forms of visualization, and data exchange standards set by the national ocean science community. It will also provide access to the distributed data archives at the partner institutions, develop a regional archive, and build links to an ultimate national “deep archive”. The archives are to be populated with selected historical data sets as well as contemporaneous data. Further, it is concerned not only with the flow of observed and model-based data within the RCOOS and to external users but also with the flow of selected data sets and real-time data streams from external sources to internal users.

Major activities will include:

• Developing avenues of access to data and data products through establishment of distributed subregional “nodes” and the development, adoption, and dissemination of techniques for cataloguing and documenting data and metadata.
• Enabling tools for sharing observations and model products among SECOORA primary partners, as well as the broader community, which includes rapid exchange of selected information for different strategic purposes.
• Developing software and procedures needed for data integration; e.g., QA/QC procedures, identification and establishment of data and metadata standards.
• Enabling interactive visualization of merged observations and model products through a Web-based portal.
• Developing Web-based products from data streams and model outputs, which include geospatial information and overlays.
• Establishing archives and mirror sites for data and information products.
• Establishing functional relationships with external partners, including identifying data complementary to those produced by the RCOOS and forming linkages for data exchange, compilation, and archiving.
• Working with national data centers e.g. NCDC, NCDDC, NDBC, NODC, and NGDC, to maximize IOOS data management capabilities.
• Working with other regional associations and Ocean.US to establish national information management standards and tools.

2.5.4 Outreach & Education

The vital components of a regional coastal ocean observing system include integral outreach and education activities. The outreach process facilitates the two-way flow of information between user groups and the scientific community. As a result, user groups receive useful science-based information and SECOORA is provided feedback on the emerging issues that may warrant further investigation. Outreach works directly with marine operations businesses and agencies, national security providers, coastal and marine ecosystem mangers, coastal hazards and emergency management, public health officials, fisheries managers and coastal recreation businesses. The critical education component refers to information, which can be included in formal education (K-16) and free-choice institutions, such as museums, aquariums, and science centers. The education element provides a fundamental linkage between IOOS and future ocean users, scientists and observing system operators.

Major activities will include:

• Providing a structure and process for conducting region-wide efforts to increase public awareness of SECOORA and expand the user base for regional products.
• Supporting the development of regional products and extending those products to the intended user audiences.
• Establishing a strong feedback loop between users, scientists, and operators to maximize the relevancy and usefulness of information products.
• Incorporating SECOORA information into educational applications through the development of an educator network.
• Making the K-16 and free-choice institutional audiences aware of SECOORA as a platform for teaching science principles.

2.5.5 Product Development

The ultimate utility of the regional information system is to enable the creation of products that address scientific and societal issues heretofore inaccessible. The number and variety of new products needed to significantly impact the many societal themes identified by Ocean.US in the coastal zone is large; an equivalent or larger number of products will be needed to advance our scientific understanding. Many products will be highly specialized and require concerted development programs.

Responsibility for product development lies with industry, government and academia.

Clear separation of responsibility for individual products does not exist, but health and safety products are generally the responsibility of government, private sector needs are often satisfied by private industry, and product development that requires significant research are typically initial subjects of academic enterprise.

As coastal ocean observing systems are first established, and the IOOS emerges, initial product development is critical, to popularize the system as a whole, and to ensure interoperability between all parties involved. SECOORA will therefore support initial product development necessary to demonstrate capabilities, engage users and promote the IOOS model. An active dialogue with all provider sectors will be maintained to strike an equitable partition of product development effort.