July 2005 Workshop Report
M. Richard DeVoe
The SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing
Regional Association (SECOORA)
SECOORA Workshop
September 12-13, 2006
Observations and Data Transmission
Current
State
Operations
Infrastructure
Relationships
and
Procedures
Transition
Actions
Desired
Future State
(1 yr)
Transition
Actions
Desired
Future State
(3-5 yrs)
 Autonomous systems
Initiate observation asset
Existing obs resources/assets
Generate Operations plan for
 Optimized Obs operation
running quasi-independently
 Most systems research
oriented and marginally
“operational”
inventory
Characterize existing
observation
procedures/protocols
Define./instantiate obs-related
testbed activities
Generate Operations Plan for
confederated obs. system
inventoried
Focused testbeds addressing
key obs-related
applications/constraints
Preliminary Obs operations
plan in place
integrated observation system
Generate Observation Metrics
Plan
Develop SLAs commensurate
with support and expected use
Complete engineering trades
strategy in place
Cost/benefit metrics routinely
collected
Each assets works within a
reasonable Service Level
Agreement
Large number of assets in
Generate Preliminary
All obs assets inventoried and
Develop Enterprise Obs Plan
Optimized observations
place, but not effectively
managed from an enterprise
perspective
 Low bandwidth connections
to instrumentation
Development Plan for
coordinating/evolving
federated obs assets
Set up effective cross-system
linkages
managed
Coordinated regional
approach for obs
procurement/maintenance
Clear link between required
obs infrastructure and desired
end use
that response to desired
architecture and leverages
economies of scale
infrastructure in place
 Governance process still in
Ratify TOR
Effective governance
Generate an RA obs
Fully certified RA
development
 Roles and responsibilities
between stakeholders not well
defined
Obs protocols not
standardized
 Use TOR to set up long-term
mechanism in place
Certification effort underway
5 year Strategic Plan in
development with section on
Obs/Data Trans.
Viable annual work plan in
place
 Effective liaisons in place
with other RAs and relevant
groups
development plan consistent
with top-down and bottom-up
drivers
Generate SECOOR obs
protocol
SECOORA recognized as
High dependency on
Generate viable Business
Generate viable Value
Generate and execute tactical
SECOORA can effective
earmarks
Limited coordination
between projects
Sustainment activities in
infancy
Plan for obs sustainment
proposition
Generate plan to diversify
funding sources for obs
sustainment
plans for ob sustainment
consistent with the overall
business strategy
compete for grants, RFP, other
opportunities related to obs
sustainment
There is significant local and
private sector investment in
obs sustainment
governance structure
Articulate obs roles ands resp
Generate 5-year Strategic
Plan
Generate work plan for this
year
Set up committee to oversee
certification process
Collect lesson learned from
other RAs
Resources
The SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing
Regional Association (SECOORA)
intellectual leader in RA
development in obs
coordination
SECOORA Workshop
September 12-13, 2006
Observations and Data Transmission
 Operations
 Intra-regional coordination of data collection, formatting and
QA/QC
 Infrastructure
 Inventory of assets, personnel, and redundancy
 Prioritization of infrastructure replacement
 Expansion plans
 Relationships
 Greater coordination among all partners and activities
 Resources
 Transfer of certain products to operational agencies
 Define requirements and funding levels
The SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing
Regional Association (SECOORA)
SECOORA Workshop
September 12-13, 2006
Data Management and Communications
Current
State
 No international standard set
 SEACOOS DMAC has
standards and protocols
Operations
 Rudimentary Equipment
Inventory and Data Flow
Monitor available from
SEACOOS
Transition
Actions
Desired
Future State
(1 yr)
Transition
Actions
 Develop training materials
 Train membership to data
 Develop an Interactive
and standards for
interoperability
 Expand Equipment
Inventory beyond SEACOOS
to broader SECOORA
membership
 Develop Ocean Data
Partnership
standard for interoperability
Product Inventory
 Maintain Equipment
Inventory
 Continually merge standards
within RAs
 Seek active participation in
Ocean Data Partnership
 Interactive Equipment
Inventory on Web
 Ocean Data Partnership
accepted
Desired
Future State
(3-5 yrs)
 International Data Standards in
place with stakeholder and federal
acceptance of data formats
 Maintained Product Inventory,
descriptions and portals
 Training and business plan
complete
 Ocean Data Partnership
transitioned to SECOORA
governance

 Current Inventories
Infrastructure
Relationships
and
Procedures
Resources
incomplete across all levels
 Wide range of usability
across region, with different
disciplines supported
 No system engineering
approach
 Coordinate Inventories
 Inventory Coordination
 Coordinate regional portals
started
and and leverage IT
infrastructure
 Focus on disciplines most
needed by stakeholders
Inter-operative Enterprise in
 System Engineering Plan in
place
 Use SYSENG approach to
place maximizing regional
assets
coordinate and build enterprise
 Establish a System
Engineering Approach
 Governance process still in
 Use TOR/governance to set
Effective governance
 Host a number of
development
 Roles and responsibilities
between stakeholders not well
defined
 No SECOORA Brand
Identity
up long-term DMAC structure
Articulate DMAC roles ands
resp
Generate 5-year Strategic
Plan
Set up committee to oversee
DMAC strategy
Collect lesson learned from
other RAs
mechanism in place
5 year Strategic Plan in
development with section on
DMAC
Viable annual work plan in
place
 Committee in place
 Effective liaisons in place
with other RAs and relevant
groups
stakeholder workshops with
academia, govt and industry
 Develop plan for
multilingual products
 Modify strategic plan based
on stakeholdeer/membership
needs assessment
High dependency on
Generate viable Business
Generate viable Value
Generate and execute tactical
SECOORA can effectively
earmarks
Limited coordination
between projects
 Very little coordination
beyond SEACOOS for intraregion DMAC
Plan DMAC
proposition
 Stabilize funding sources by
Generate plan to diversify
plans for DMAC sustainment
consistent with the overall
business strategy
reaching out to other funding
sources; Insurance, fisheries,
local/federal government
funding sources DMAC
sustainment
compete for grants, RFP, other
opportunities related to DMAC
sustainment
There is significant local and
private sector investment in
DMAC sustainment
The SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing
Regional Association (SECOORA)
SECOORA recognized as
intellectual leader in RA
development DMAC
SECOORA Workshop
September 12-13, 2006
Data Management and Communications
 Operations
 Identify and adopt international standard
 Greater degree of buy-in
 Involve additional players
 Infrastructure
 Apply a systems-engineering approach to tie users together
 Relationships
 Greater “brand” identity
 Closer involvement with IOOS
 Resources
 SECOORA as clearing house for info on technologies, DM, and
funding opportunities
 Organize and inform user groups
The SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing
Regional Association (SECOORA)
SECOORA Workshop
September 12-13, 2006
Data Analysis and Products
Operations
Relationships
and
Procedures
Transition
Actions
Desired
Future State
(3-5 yrs)
Transition
Actions
 Need more participation from
 Push for more Private Sector
 Increase in Private Sector
 Empower Oversight
 Regional Website in place
Private Sector
Sub-regional products not
coordinated between agencies
 Regional website not
operational
Need consistent QA/QC
model
Involvement
 Develop Regional Website
that incorporates all subregional efforts.
 Website should provide data
archive, links to products/tools
for Ecosystem mgt and climo
 Develop QA/QC model
Involvement
 DMAC workshop held to
address current shortfalls
 New Regional Website that
“operationalizes” SECOORA
products
 QA/QC model developed
Committee to develop
requirements for Product posted
to web
 Continue to foster more
membership
 Develop “one stop shop”
portal for Regional Products
 QA/QC model in place
which provides data and
product portal to “controlled”
data in a professional website
 Develop a regional plan for IT
 Regional Plan for IT
 Begin RCOOS Design Doc
Infrastructure in place (RCOOS
Design Doc)
 Web Calendar in place for
Cruise Sked
 Equipment Inventory in place
implementation
 Sharing of assets/ship time
beginning be implemented
 Dynamic Equip Inventory in
Place
 RCOOS Design Doc in place
 Assets successfully shared
 Need more emphasis on IT
Infrastructure
Desired
Future State
(1 yr)
Current
State
 Data is archived
 Products heavily used and
with feedback loop
Coordination
 Separate sub-regional efforts
in place
 Independent use of assets
 Need more database mgt
coordination between assets
Infrastructure and sharing of assets
 Develop a web calendar showing
cruise skeds to allow for
piggybacking
 Develop plan for system
redundancy
 Develop regional Equipment
Inventory
 Governance process still in
 ID Success Stories
 Success Stories posted on
Generate Strategic plan
 Clear relationships and
development
 Roles and responsibilities
between stakeholders not well
defined
 Strategy for incorporating all
assets intra-Region and outregion, not in place
 Hold workshops with willing
users such as Fisheries and
NWS to identify needed
products
 Define clear rules of
engagement for various sectors
 Increase coordination to have
a unity of effort which may free
funds
 Develop 5 year Strat Plan
Website
5 year Strategic Plan in
development with section on
Data Analysis and Products
Viable annual work plan in
place
 Committee in place
 Workshop scheduled and
liaisons with other RA’s
established
consistent with top-down and
bottom-up drivers
procedures in place in which the
RA operates with a unity of
effort
High dependency on earmarks
Generate viable Business Plan for
Generate viable Value proposition
Data Analysis and Products
sustainment
 Focus on developing on proof of
concept product to demonstrate
viability to resource managers
Stabilize funding sources by
reaching out to other funding
sources
Generate and execute tactical
SECOORA can effective
 Greater coord between
plans for Data Analysis and
Products sustainment consistent
with the overall business
strategy
compete for grants, RFP, other
opportunities related Data
Analysis and Products
sustainment
There is significant local and
private sector investment in
Product sustainment
Limited coordination between
projects
Sustainment activities in
infancy
 Personnel devoted to
Regional Products limited
Resources
The SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing
Regional Association (SECOORA)
universities
Generate plan to diversify funding
sources for Data Analysis and
Products sustainment
throughout region
 Dynamic Equipment
Inventory in place and used to
manage Regional assets
 System redundancy in place
 Committee in place for
inter/intra-RA coordination for
Data Analysis and Products
SECOORA Workshop
September 12-13, 2006
Data Analysis and Products
 Operations
 Enhance private sector involvement
 Consistent QA/QC model
 Web site development for product display
 Infrastructure
 Greater emphasis on IT and coordination
 Relationships
 General cooperation with federal agencies, educators, and private
sector
 ID product success stories
 Resources
 Focus product development on few regional products
The SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing
Regional Association (SECOORA)
SECOORA Workshop
September 12-13, 2006
Product Development and Marketing
Current
State
Operations
Infrastructure
Relationships
and
Procedures
Transition
Actions
Desired
Future State
(1 yr)
Transition
Actions
Desired
Future State
(3-5 yrs)
Need more input into
Respond to existing needs
Identify innovative outreach
Fund public service
Workforce training programs
SECOORA education products
from private sector/maritime
community
No/incomplete needs
assessments of targeted user
groups for OOS
products/services
Limited teacher education
programs
assessments as opposed to
conducting more
Provide student opportunities
to previously-unengaged
schools
“Sponsor” peer-reviewed
journals
Provide a regular column to
national/regional newsletters
methods
Develop Web components to
allow K-16 educators to pull
data and use them in curricula
Inventory regional O&E
efforts and develop protocol for
coordinating them
announcements on tv/radio
Organize workshop tp
inventory/prioritize ALL
activities within SECOORA
Solicit private industry funds
for low-income student
scholarships for summer
programs
established with technical
schools
Wide variety of users can pull
information in a useful format
at an appropriate level for each
user
Scientists well versed in
O&E tools/techniques to assist
with products/services
development
 Poor educator/student
Establish mechanism to
Identified funding sources to
SECOORA member
Coordinate educator
interaction w/scientific
community
Limited funding for
staff/facilities
Need modern
labs/instrumentation to teach
scientific principles
Need no/low cost methods of
reaching users to inform about
programs and their usefulness
coordinate/best utilize O&E
infrastructure across programs
Create a SECOORA brand for
marketing materials
Provide outreach and
education forums on the
SECOORA Web site – keep
separate
Engage civic organizations,
museums, and aquaria in
region
support infrastructure
SECOORA-funded
competitive pilot project
opportunities
Initiate design of museumbased education and outreach
tools
Strategically-located
educational kiosks
organizations cultivate private
sector relationships
Provide online
courses/resources for teachers
and informal educators
Combine educational efforts
among SECOORA members
Involvement in curriculum
development to train workforce
and build capacity
Support university projects
workshops
Add infrastructure to
classrooms to enhance
education
Establish/support scholarship
program (w/private sector?)
Displays in museums/aquaria
across SECOORA region
Support Teacher-at-Sea
program
Building linkages w/”super
Participate in educational
Subregional workshops to get
Organize sessions at
Identify long-term funding
users” leading to great outreach
opportunities
Need sponsored workshops to
bring together O&E
professionals
Building linkages between
subregional activities/systems
workshops in the region
Develop strategic plan with
priorities
local management community
together with the COOS
Thematic workshops to
coordinate regional/subregional
outreach activities
In-reach at the regional and
subregional levels
educational and scientific
conferences
Dedicated O&E team in each
state
Develop media design
services center
for building/maintaining
relationships
Education programs allinclusive of resource mgrs.
Support in-service training
for educators/establish
continuing education credits as
incentive
Limited resources to for Web
Inventory funding needs of
Data users engaged in all
Develop reading list for
Allocate resources to provide
development
Leveraging existing
funds/programs to support
regional outreach/educational
efforts
each existing O&E program
Inventory O&E programming
services/products available
Have coordinators for themes
(CZ mgmt, fisheries, etc.)
Web development initiatives
Focus groups to identify
O&E needs
Centralized resources for
regional O&E providers
Web-based resource sharing
established
teachers/students relevant to
SECOORA mission
Develop curricula that could
be bought by school districts
Develop “storytelling”
concept
internship/fellowship with
SECOORA or RA partner
Long-term funding identified
Support O&E coordinator
workshops to improve regional
collaboration
Create virtual O&E network
Resources
The SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing
Regional Association (SECOORA)
SECOORA Workshop
September 12-13, 2006
Product Development and Marketing
 Operations
 Many educational efforts in region; not able to reach all target
users
 Lack of financial commitment
 Multi-state consistency in educational efforts
 Infrastructure
 Need SECOORA brand
 Engage educational/technical training institutions
 Relationships
 Additional directed outreach at technical and non-technical
functions
 Resources
 Funding
The SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing
Regional Association (SECOORA)
SECOORA Workshop
September 12-13, 2006
Research and Development
Current
State
Operations
Infrastructure
Relationships
and
Procedures
Transition
Actions
Desired
Future State
(1 yr)
Transition
Actions
Desired
Future State
(3-5 yrs)
 Need national backbone
Establish robust offshore
Continued systems assessment
Develop/test nowcast/forecast
Operational nowcast/forecast
coordination
Need additional observations
(benthic/biological)
Enhanced user
communications
Unclear what operational
means
systems that can transition to
operations
Coordinate experiment and
model system design with the
national backbone
Develop data modeling plans
Conduct gap analysis for
measurements
Short term demonstration
coordination
Enhanced focus on coastal
hazards
Biological observations
Observation technology
assessment
system
Coordinate data management
at enterprise and regional levels
Further develop biological
and chemical observations
Examine annual and
interannual trends
Train next generation in
development and operation of
COOS technology
system
Thorough data management
SECOORA-wide ecosystem
analysis
Improved sensors and
observations
Education (graduate degrees
in operational oceanography)
Inventory of existing sensor
Share capabilities and
Improved sensor and
Improve technologies for HF
Continue to enhance sensor
capabilities
Inventory of communication
infrastructure
Test/gain experience with
sensors and offshore observing
systems
Early quasi-operational
capability models
personnel
Develop cost estimates
Enhance benthic dynamics
and habitats mapping
Develop sensor and
computation testbeds
observational technology
development
Testbeds
Increased seafloor mapping
Better dialogue and
coordination
radar, bio and water quality,
metazoan detection,
seafloor/seabed, air-sea, etc.
Continue development of
acoustic arrays, biosensors,
seafloor mapping
Acquires data and computers,
and develop models for
modeling center
and observational technology
developments
Expanded geographic and data
type coverage
Distributed modeling center to
share resources (models, data,
computers)
Improved coordination of
build-out activities
Poor communication in
Coordinate and establish
Links at national level
Expand/develop links with
Improved linkages with the
general (sub-region, region,
between regions)
Little support for: fisheries,
sediment transport, HF Radar
tests, data management
strategies
Developing communications
between R-COOS and Federal
Backbone
relationships with entities such
as OMB, CEQ, ORION, etc.
Coordinate and establish
relationships at the State and
County levels, with Water
Districts, etc.
Coordinate regional R&D
efforts
Establish relationships with
non-traditional funding sources
Links at local level
applied science and advanced
materials academic sectors,
Federal fisheries and EM
contacts, and instrument
manufacturers in the private
sector
Improved regional-level
R&D activities
Conduct R&D activities with
other regions
academic sector, Federal
agencies, and private industry
Significantly expanded and
improved interoperability
Continue RA and external
Focus on model
Established regional resource
Concentrate on finding
Identified sources of funding
coordination
Need external coordination
Resource needs are specific
Limited funding sources
development, data
coordination, grant
applications, and national
coordination
Seek out a stable funding
coordination and Federal
support
Peer review subregional
assessments w/in RA
Federal resources
Share technical staff
regionally
Establish central facility for
regional obs systems
and other resources
The SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing
Resources
Regional Association (SECOORA)
Improved regional
Regional-level R&D efforts
Increased funding from
entities such as NIH,
foundations, etc.
Established
R&D
SECOORA
Workshop
administration/staff
September
12-13,
2006
Observing
system
needs
identified and met
Research and Development
 Operations
 Need region-wide operational vision/systems assessment
 Research on nowcast/forecast products
 Infrastructure
 Inventory existing technologies and user needs
 Coordinated “centers” for modeling and observations
 Relationships
 Improve communications
 Improve support for pilot projects
 Resources
 Simplify administration
 Diversify funding sources
The SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing
Regional Association (SECOORA)
SECOORA Workshop
September 12-13, 2006
July 2005 Workshop Report
M. Richard DeVoe
The SouthEast Coastal Ocean Observing
Regional Association (SECOORA)
SECOORA Workshop
September 12-13, 2006