Unidata Fostering Community, Science, and Technology, in that order.
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Background In 1983, members of the academic atmospheric science community convened to address evolving technologies and increasing data volumes. These community members called for the creation of a project with staff to address these challenges in cooperation with the community. In 1984, the National Science Foundation funded a proposal from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to create the Unidata Program (Ramamurthy, 2011). Today organizations participating in the Unidata community include over 2,500 educational institutions, 900 nonprofits, and 300 governmental agencies worldwide, spanning atmospheric science, geology, hydrology, and oceanography. Unidata supports this community by providing integrated data, services, and support for educational and research functions as varied as data storage, analysis, and visualization. Unidata fosters participation through active community governance and engagement that involves staff from all functions. Two committees with similar structures but distinct roles govern Unidata. The Strategic Advisory Committee focuses on long-term directions while the Users Committee monitors community needs. Unidata also engages stakeholders through technical support, annual trainings, equipment awards, regional workshops, and large community workshops. Unidata: Fostering Community, Science, and Technology; in that order Josh Young, Mohan Ramamurthy, Ethan Davis: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Unidata Program Center, Boulder, USA *Salience is the measure of a stakeholder’s power, legitimacy, and urgency (Jawahar et al. 2001) Unidata’s Approach to Community and Service 1) Foster high levels of community ownership and participation 2) Ensure continual alignment between mission, activities, and community needs 3) Facilitate innovation through relationships, processes, and services (Landry 2013) 4) Serve as a knowledge and technology transfer intermediary organization (Landry, et al. 2013) 5) Identify economies of scope (Landry, et al. 2013) 6) Half-customization of products such that design is based on a specific use-case but structured to allow end-user adaptation and full customization 7) Mission valence, which is an employee’s perception of the attractiveness of an organization's purpose (Wright, et al. 2012), is critical for an agile approach 8) Balance domain and collateral expertise 9) Support both networked science that features open participation and sharing of preliminary products and ‘traditional’ science projects (Franzoni et al. 2013) 10) Organizational size matters, for Unidata about 25 employees is optimal References Franzoni, C., Sauermann, H. (2014) Crowd science: The organization of scientific research in open collaborative projects. Research Policy, 43, 1-20. Jawahar, I.M., MacLaughlin, G. L. (2001) Toward a Descriptive Stakeholder Theory: An Organizational Life Cycle Approach. The Academy of Management Review, 26 (3), 397-414. Leandry, R., Amara, N., Cloutier, J., Halilem, N. (2013) Technology transfer organizations: Services and business models. Technovation, 33, 431-449. National Research Council. (2015). Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science. Committee on the Science of Team Science, N.J. Cooke and M.L. Hilton, Editors. Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Ramamurthy, M.. (2011, October) Unidata Governance: A quarter century of experience. EarthCube White Paper, Retrieved from http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/publications/EarthCube/2011Charett e/Earthcube_governance.pdf Summary Supporting a community of scientific and technical users has gained increasing attention as a distinct expertise (National Research Council, 2015). Unidata has operated in this domain for decades and recognizes that to be successful a specific framework has to be adopted by all participants including staff in business, scientific, or technical roles. This poster shares that philosophical approach and some lessons learned. Figure 2 Organizational Lifecycle and Stakeholder Salience* (Based on a framework from Jawahar et al., 2001 and Leandry et al, 2013) Figure 1 Expertise Required for Geoscience Community Building
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Transcript of Unidata Fostering Community, Science, and Technology, in that order.
Background In 1983, members of the academic atmospheric science community convened to address evolving technologies and increasing data volumes. These community members called for the creation of a project with staff to address these challenges in cooperation with the community. In 1984, the National Science Foundation funded a proposal from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to create the Unidata Program (Ramamurthy, 2011). Today organizations participating in the Unidata community include over 2,500 educational institutions, 900 nonprofits, and 300 governmental agencies worldwide, spanning atmospheric science, geology, hydrology, and oceanography. Unidata supports this community by providing integrated data, services, and support for educational and research functions as varied as data storage, analysis, and visualization. Unidata fosters participation through active community governance and engagement that involves staff from all functions. Two committees with similar structures but distinct roles govern Unidata. The Strategic Advisory Committee focuses on long-term directions while the Users Committee monitors community needs. Unidata also engages stakeholders through technical support, annual trainings, equipment awards, regional workshops, and large community workshops.
Unidata: Fostering Community, Science, and Technology; in that order Josh Young, Mohan Ramamurthy, Ethan Davis: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Unidata Program Center, Boulder, USA
*Salience is the measure of a stakeholder’s power, legitimacy, and urgency (Jawahar et al. 2001)
Unidata’s Approach to Community and Service
1) Foster high levels of community ownership and participation
2) Ensure continual alignment between mission, activities, and community needs
3) Facilitate innovation through relationships, processes, and services (Landry 2013)
4) Serve as a knowledge and technology transfer intermediary organization (Landry, et al. 2013)
5) Identify economies of scope (Landry, et al. 2013) 6) Half-customization of products such that design is
based on a specific use-case but structured to allow end-user adaptation and full customization
7) Mission valence, which is an employee’s perception of the attractiveness of an organization's purpose (Wright, et al. 2012), is critical for an agile approach
8) Balance domain and collateral expertise 9) Support both networked science that features
open participation and sharing of preliminary products and ‘traditional’ science projects (Franzoni et al. 2013)
10) Organizational size matters, for Unidata about 25 employees is optimal
References Franzoni, C., Sauermann, H. (2014) Crowd science: The organization of scientific research in open collaborative projects. Research Policy, 43, 1-20. Jawahar, I.M., MacLaughlin, G. L. (2001) Toward a Descriptive Stakeholder Theory: An Organizational Life Cycle Approach. The Academy of Management Review, 26 (3), 397-414. Leandry, R., Amara, N., Cloutier, J., Halilem, N. (2013) Technology transfer organizations: Services and business models. Technovation, 33, 431-449. National Research Council. (2015). Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science. Committee on the Science of Team Science, N.J. Cooke and M.L. Hilton, Editors. Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Ramamurthy, M.. (2011, October) Unidata Governance: A quarter century of experience. EarthCube White Paper, Retrieved from http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/publications/EarthCube/2011Charette/Earthcube_governance.pdf
Summary Supporting a community of scientific and technical users has gained increasing attention as a distinct expertise (National Research Council, 2015). Unidata has operated in this domain for decades and recognizes that to be successful a specific framework has to be adopted by all participants including staff in business, scientific, or technical roles. This poster shares that philosophical approach and some lessons learned.
Figure 2 Organizational Lifecycle and Stakeholder Salience* (Based on a framework from Jawahar et al., 2001 and Leandry et al, 2013)
Figure 1 Expertise Required for Geoscience Community Building
