[LTER-im-rep] ESIP meeting, and LTER - Distributed Information Management Feasibility Exercise

[Margaret O'Brien]

Hello all -
Included below is the summary that Philip sent out last week, to remind 
you all of where we are in the feasibility exercise, "LTER Distributed 
Information Management". Please note that I am sending this to the 
IM-rep list, so please share with others at your site, as appropriate. 
6-10 IMs have continued  to hold regular google-hangouts (Fridays, 3pm 
EDT), and notes are available (see Philip's email). We anticipate these 
continuing, and that Saran Twombly will occasionally join.

As part of the planning process, NSF has offered us supplement funds to 
bring people to a physical meeting for more intensive work than can be 
accomplished over the phone or in VTCs. It is most efficient to 
coordinate this with already-anticipated travel, and the upcoming ESIP 
meeting in mid-July seems perfectly timed. This message is a request for 
you to show your interest in attending.

Note that in Philip's timeline, during July we expect this exercise to 
be focused in these areas:
   -- the Yes/No decision from the IMC/LPIs on the feasibility of 
distributed data management, and
   -- conditionally on that answer being 'Yes', a draft proposal for 
discussion.
All during the spring and summer, we will be building ideas incrementally.

We expect that we will need some dedicated time, apart from the ESIP 
meeting. So participants should plan to arrive one day early (Sunday, 
July 12), and that we will work together on this exercise on Monday. The 
ESIP meeting runs Tuesday-Friday morning, and our group may be able to 
use ad hoc time then as well. Specifically, participants need to be 
willing to contribute to the project scope, description, and draft 
proposal prep.

A draft supplement proposal has been started, but the number of 
participants to be budgeted for is still TBD.  The supplement will cover 
travel to/from Monterey, lodging at Alisomar (including the extra day), 
meals as needed, and ESIP registration.

If you would like to participate in the the LTER Distributed Information 
Management feasibility meeting and ESIP meeting, please reply to this 
message. Include in your reply a short statement describing how you see 
yourself participating in this exercise, and your areas of expertise in 
IM or project planning. Please understand that this offer comes with 
strings -- it is not just an opportunity to attend ESIP sessions, 
although that is certainly a bonus.

Best regards,
Margaret O'Brien

Links:
ESIP meeting, summer 2015: http://commons.esipfed.org/2015SummerMeeting

Session at ESIP you should note, because it dovetails with this 
exercise: http://commons.esipfed.org/node/8001
(proposed by Corinna)




-----------
Margaret O'Brien
Information Management
Santa Barbara Coastal LTER
Marine Science Institute, UCSB
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
805-893-2071 (voice)
http://sbc.lternet.edu



-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: 	[LTER-im-rep] LTER - Distributed Information Management 
Feasibility Exercise
Date: 	Tue, 19 May 2015 22:47:45 +0000
From: 	Philip Tarrant <philip.tarrant at asu.edu>
To: 	im-rep at lternet.edu <im-rep at lternet.edu>, Remillard, Suzanne 
<suzanne.remillard at oregonstate.edu>, Valentine, Theresa 
<theresa.valentine at oregonstate.edu>, Stevan Earl <stevan.earl at asu.edu>



Dear colleagues,

As you know we recently received a request from the National Science 
Foundation to explore the feasibility of moving the network information 
management coordination and provision to the IM community as a possible 
alternative to a new Network Office for LTER data management. This 
feasibility exercise will take place over the next two-three months. 
Many of you have expressed a willingness to contribute to this work, but 
I also want to keep the whole IMC in the loop as we move forward.

We have already made some progress, which I would like to share with you:

 1. We have received input from colleagues via e-mail and discussions
    and this has all been put in a single location, so nothing gets
    lost. Please keep your contributions coming as everyone’s input is
    welcome and valuable.
 2. Some brainstorming sessions have already explored the requirements
    of a “Distributed IM Model” as well as some of the issues and
    concerns that we will need to address in order for an endeavor of
    this nature to be a success. We have not been able to get everyone
    who volunteered to help on the same call yet, but we have had a good
    core group in each discussion.
 3. The fact that the Science Council meeting took place last week, gave
    the limited IM contingent the opportunity to share the concept with
    the attendees, including PIs and the LTER Executive Board. The
    response was generally positive, with encouragement and support for
    us to continue exploring this idea. Many of the questions raised
    were those we have already been asking ourselves, so I think we are
    on the right track.
 4. Some of the topics we are exploring include:

·Governance and policy

·Logistics

·Personnel requirements

·Assessing impact (if any) on sites

·Managing changes in site status or IM personnel

·Possibly separating decision making from fiscal administration

·Budget required to do this effectively

 5. As we explore these topics in more detail, the working group members
    will be calling IMs to collect additional input and to address any
    questions as best we can, given there are still many unknowns. You
    should expect a call in the next week or so.
 6. We have set up a Google docs repository and will invite all IMs to
    contribute to the discussion on the above topics. That will allow
    everyone to voice ideas and concerns as they occur. A link will be
    sent out shortly.

We are still firming up the necessary timetable, but we expect to follow 
this approximate schedule:

  * Build ideas incrementally over early summer - May/June
  * Yes/No decision from the entire IMC and all lead PIs to NSF - Early July

/Conditional on that answer being Yes:/

  * Draft proposal for discussion - Late July
  * Plan a communication/affirmation session for the ASM - August
  * Issue formal proposal with recommendations to NSF as soon after ASM
    as possible - Early October


Finally, please continue to engage as a community on this subject. Your 
input and your support for this exercise are greatly appreciated.

Regards,

*Philip Tarrant*
*Director, Informatics and Technology | Senior Sustainability Scientist*
http://sustainability.asu.edu/docs/gios/signature/images/logo.jpg*
*P.O. Box 875402 | Tempe, Arizona | 85287-5402
PH: 480-727-7860   |   Main: 480-965-2975 | sustainability.asu.edu 
<http://sustainability.asu.edu/>