Summer 2013 panel discussion

From Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP)

A Panel Discussion on Survey Scope

It has been suggested that at the summer ESIP meeting we convene a panel discussion on the topic of scope for a data decadal survey. It would include members from agencies and organizations such as NASA, NOAA, USGS, NSF, ESIP, CODATA, RDA, etc. The goal would be to hear their perspectives on scope and use that to help identify possible statements of task.

Please add thoughts, comments here.



03.21.13: We are moving forward with this idea. Carol and Erin may place this as a plenary session in the meeting.

All that follows is a straw man for the sake of discussion. Please chime in.

We are thinking of two parts: 1) visionary, 2) panel discussion

Panel discussion abstract

Draft: please contribute!

Title???

At the behest of government agencies and other organizations, the National Research Council (NRC) conducts studies that provide community consensus on key science questions. One of the broadest types of surveys conducted by the NRC is the Decadal Survey.

A Decadal Survey is a broad study of a topic or area that is coordinated by the NRC. It provides community consensus on goals and priorities for moving forward in that area over the next ten years. The studies are requested and funded by government agencies and other organizations and used by them to prioritize research areas and focus efforts and resources accordingly. The decadal survey process has been shown to be a robust method for developing goals and objectives in pursuit of high priority science questions. The NRC has done a number of these studies, including its first decadal survey for Earth science in January 2007 at the request of NASA, NOAA, and the USGS.

Members of ESIP and representatives from the NRC Board on Research Data and Information (BRDI) have organized a cluster to investigate the idea and potentially seed the process of conducting a Data Decadal Survey (http://wiki.esipfed.org/index.php/Data_Decadal_Survey). With the growing interest in the repurposing of data and its use across domains and far from its point of collection, problems abound in data use, management, and stewardship. The survey would address overarching issues in data management practices in order to make data more widely accessible and usable and ultimately enhance scientific knowledge. Such a survey could address at the broadest level gaps in data management knowledge and practices that hold back scientific progress.

At the ESIP summer meeting we are organizing a panel discussion around this idea. We are inviting panelists to give us their vision of the future around data, and to discuss data management and stewardship (DMAS) topics and issues via questions such as:

  • Do you have ideas for science that could be done with improved DMAS that cannot be done now? If so, what?
  • Do you know of serious gaps in DMAS that negatively impact science? If so, tell us about some.
  • Do you see a need for a Data Decadal Survey? If so, why? If not, why not?


If in support of a survey:

  • What do you think should be the scope of the survey?
    • A tradeoff: depth vs. breadth. (Either extreme is of less general use. Note to self: Paul's paragraph -Anne)
    • Earth Science only? Broader?
    • Data? Software? Methodologies?
  • What would be metrics for survey success?

Potential panelists

We seek a visionary perspective, in additional to agency and organizational perspectives.

We think 5 panelists would be a maximum.

Potential panel members (note: order is irrelevant, and only some affiliations/associations are listed)

  • John Wilbanks
  • Stan Aholt, RENCI
  • Steven Friend (from genetics)
  • Berrien Moore, College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, University of Oklahoma
  • Chris Greer, Associate Director for Progrma Implemention in Information Technology Laboratory, NIST
  • Piers Sellers, astronaut, meteorology, computer modeling
  • The (2 hour) video "Earth from Space", Earth from Space has comments from visionary-types:
    • (From Netflix website) cast: Waleed Abdalati, David Adamec, Charlie Bristow, Carl Feldman, Holly Gilbert, Jeffrey B. Halverson, Jay O. Sanders, Piers Sellers, Emily Shuckburgh
  • Martha Maiden, Program executive for Earth Science Data Systems, NASA
  • Jeff Newmark, Executive Secretary, NASA Heliophysics Subcommittee
  • Dan Baker, Director Laboratory for Amospheric and Space Physics (LASP), Chair of Heliophysics Decadal Survey
  • "Lessons Learned in Decadal Planning in Space Science, A Workshop", Report from Nov 12, 2012 workshop, includes names of workshop presenters and moderators, including several we mentioned today
  • Thomas Karl, Director, National Climatic Data Center
  • Mark Parsons, RDA
  • Fran Berman, RDA, BRDI
  • Peter Fox, RPI, Ambassador at Large
  • Cliff Jacobs, EarthCube (retired?)
  • Bob Chen, Director CIESIN, mmanager SEDAC, prior secretary-general CODATA
  • Chris Mentzel, Program Officer, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
  • Sara Graves, BRDI, CODATA Executive Committee member, Director of IT and Systems Center, UAH
  • Peter Colohan, Senior Policy Analyst, White House OSTP

Outcome, deliverable

Based on the ideas from the panel discussion, develop a short white paper to describe a potential workshop to be held in the fall of 2013, which would include representatives from beyond ESIP, and which would provide options for the nature, scope, tasks, and constituencies for a Data Decadal Survey.

Discussion, ideas, thoughts, brainstorming

Some cluster members are uncomfortable expanding the scope of the survey beyond Earth sciences. Does it make sense to start "small", with Earth sciences, and then generalize? Or, as data management problems across domains are all basically similar, start with the more general and go into greater detail later?