SPECIAL NOTICE
99 -- Views on NCDC Data and Information Products
- Notice Date
- 5/13/2014
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541620
— Environmental Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Climatic Data Center, Room 476 Financial Management Branch 4th Floor, 151 Patton Avenue, Asheville, North Carolina, 28801
- ZIP Code
- 28801
- Solicitation Number
- NOAA_RFI_Products
- Archive Date
- 7/12/2014
- Point of Contact
- James McMahon,
- E-Mail Address
-
james.mcmahon@noaa.gov
(james.mcmahon@noaa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- The Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) is requesting information from industry and other non-Federal organizations (e.g., nonprofits, research laboratories, and universities) regarding the prioritization of current and future NCDC products and services. This request supports the directive in The President's Climate Action Plan of 2013 to "[increase] the availability, accessibility, and utility of relevant scientific tools and information" and "develop the information and tools needed by decision-makers to respond to both long-term climate change impacts and near-term effects of weather." It also supports the President's May 2013 Executive Order on Open Data, and the Administration's Climate Data Initiative "to leverage extensive federal climate-relevant data to stimulate innovation and private-sector entrepreneurship in support of national climate-change preparedness." NCDC is the Nation's trusted authority for historical weather and climate data (hereinafter referred to as "climate data" for brevity). An accurate understanding of the natural environment is essential to the country's socioeconomic health. NCDC is committed to encouraging a vibrant partnership participating in the prioritization, development, and delivery of climate data, products, and services to the public for the well-being of the Nation. Purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) NCDC has a need to understand the priorities of non-Federal users in order to maximize the relevance of NCDC products and simultaneously minimize any duplication of efforts between NCDC and non-Federal organizations. To this end, NCDC, along with other National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service Data Centers, has developed a product prioritization framework. This RFI seeks ideas from non-Federal users on how to maximize the relevance and utility of the prioritization framework. Though other Federal agencies may also need to evaluate and optimize their climate data products, and a broader RFI that includes other Federal data sources may be logical in the future, this RFI focuses exclusively on NCDC's climate data and information. The information provided may or may not lead to any future requests for proposals and/or public-private partnerships. Information Requested Interested organizations should review the Product Prioritization Framework in Appendix A to this RFI and submit a written response to the topics below. Example NCDC data and information products are described in Appendix B to this RFI. •Please comment on ways to improve the prioritization framework from your point of view. Ideas are welcome on all criteria, with special attention requested to criterion #1 regarding importance to the public, users, and/or scientific communities. •Are there any important criteria missing? •Are there any important changes that should be made to the existing criteria? •How might NCDC collect input on criterion #1? •How might NCDC collect input on criterion #7? •How might NCDC best evaluate the input it receives? For example, input from large societies and associations could be evaluated or weighted differently than individual organizations. How might NCDC account for the relative size or prominence of the organization providing input? •How might NCDC strengthen its interaction with non-Federal stakeholders to minimize duplication of efforts for future product development? NCDC is providing all stakeholders an opportunity to respond to this request for information. This request is not a request for proposals. The Government will not reimburse the respondents for any costs incurred or otherwise associated with the information submitted in response to this request. All information submitted in response to this request may be shared inside and outside the Government. Written comments, no longer than five pages in length, must be submitted electronically as a PDF no later than June 27, 2014, addressed to James.McMahon@noaa.gov. Please do not submit marketing material.   Appendix A - Product Prioritization Framework #1.Importance to the public, users, and/or scientific communities •5 = Vital to users. Deep, broad, engaged user community with explicit written requirements. Documentation that users depend on it. Heavily used for critical decisions. •4 = Very important to users. User community regularly expresses the importance of this product. User community is very well known and provides specific requirements. •3 = Important to users. User community has expressed the importance of the product. Clear who the users are and what they need. •2 = Somewhat important to users. The category of product is valuable to users. Somewhat clear who the users are. •1 = Unclear value to users, user community is undefined. Usage is sparse or unclear. #2.Compliance with Federal law or binding international law or treaty •5 = Is explicitly required by Federal or International Law. •4 = Forms the basis of NOAA's compliance with Federal or International Law. •3 = Product/service category is required by Federal or International Law. •2 = Aids compliance with Federal or International Law. Compliance is still possible without the product, but the presence of the product makes compliance more efficient and/or reliable. •1 = Not clearly traceable to Federal or International Law. #3.Directly supports Administration priorities or signed external agreements •5 = Is explicitly required by priorities or signed agreements. •4 = Forms the basis of NOAA's compliance with priorities or signed agreements. •3 = Product category is required by priorities or signed agreements. •2 = Aids compliance with priorities or signed agreements. Compliance is still possible without the product, but the presence of the product makes compliance more efficient and/or reliable. •1 = Not clearly traceable to priorities or signed agreements. #4.Provides input for other processes, systems, and/or products (hereinafter "products") •5 = Serves as a required input to many products or at least one critical product. •4 = Serves as a required input to several products. •3 = Serves as a required input to one product. •2 = Serves as an optional input to one or more products. •1 = Not used by any other products. #5.Required to provide authoritative governmental standards; or preserve/steward/serve non-recoverable data; or preserve a strong legacy as national/international leader or "center of excellence" •5 = Required to maintain a "national treasure" (irreplaceable, high-value information) or provide authoritative governmental standards. •4 = Required to preserve or steward important government information assets. •3 = Required to preserve status as a national or international center of excellence. •2 = Supports the maintenance of government information assets. •1 = Does not affect government standards or assets. #6.Protection of life and property •5 = Required to protect lives. •4 = Required to protect property. •3 = Important input to protecting lives or property (aids in decision support). •2 = Supplemental input for protecting lives or property. •1 = No demonstrable linkages to protection of life or property. #7.Economic impacts •5 = Demonstrable impact; national or international level. •4 = Demonstrable impact; regional or state level; multiple sectors. •3 = Likely impact; international, national, regional, or state level; multiple sectors. •2 = Likely impact; local or community level; specific sector, business, or ecosystem. •1 = No likely impact. #8.Uniqueness of NOAA's contribution •5 = Only NOAA Data Centers can do (versus private sector, academia, or other governmental institutions). •4 = NOAA is well-suited to do but could, in theory, credibly be done elsewhere. •3 = Could be done in a sustainable manner elsewhere but currently isn't being done. •2 = Is partially being done elsewhere. •1 = Is currently being done effectively elsewhere.   Appendix B - Example NCDC data and information products See www.ncdc.noaa.gov for more information about NCDC data and information products. Following is a list of general NCDC products and services as examples of where the criteria could be applied. 1.Homogeneity-Adjusted and Quality-Controlled Products a.Data or products that incorporate quality review, quality control, and adjustment procedures to correct errors and biases in the raw data in order to provide a more usable long-term record. b.Includes climate data records and other blended products that may incorporate in situ, satellite, radar, paleoclimate, or other measurements. 2.Climate Normals and Related Products a.Data, products, or services that describe the normal state (over a long period such as 30 years) of the climate, including any combination of typical weather or climate variables such as maximum temperature, minimum temperature, average hourly/daily/monthly/seasonal/annual temperatures, precipitation, soil moisture, wind speed and direction, etc. 3.Weather and Climate Extremes and Related Products a.Data, products, or services that describe the extremes of weather and climate such as drought, extreme precipitation, flooding, wildfires, extreme temperatures (including heat and cold waves), tornadoes and convective storms, hurricanes/tropical cyclones, and extratropical storms. 4.Climate Monitoring Products a.Data, products, or services that regularly (daily, weekly, monthly, annually) describe the state of the climate or some aspect of the climate system. 5.Gridded Data Products and Data Visualization Products a.Data, products, or services that present climate data on a grid rather than in point-source form. b.Data, products, or services that visualize data, creating graphs, charts, animations, or interactive diagrams in order to display complex or large datasets in a more usable and intuitive format.
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