Stakeholder Priorities
Priorities for GCOOS measurements and derived products are determined using several approaches.
- We hold workshops that target specific stakeholder communities (e.g., recreational boaters, emergency managers, or petroleum producers). The objectives of these workshops are to identify with priorities the measurements and products needed by the specific community, identify pilot projects that might further the development of the needed measurements or products, and obtain cost estimates as feasible.
- We use advice from the groups comprising the organizational structure of the GCOOS-RA: the Board of Directors, Councils, and Committees. These groups consist of people from many different stakeholder sectors of the private, governmental, and academic communities, so the advice given is a realistic representation of many different sectors and contributes to the determination of priorities.
- We encourage broad input in the preparation of our guiding documents such as the GCOOS Observing System Plan, the plan for a GCOOS Operations Center, and the draft plan for a Gulf of Mexico Harmful Algal Bloom Integrated Observing System. In this manner the needs of many different stakeholder sectors are incorporated into our overall planning.
- When funding opportunities become available, calls for suggestions are made via the GCOOS listserv, which is open to anyone who wishes to be on it, and to the public via the GCOOS web site. All suggestions received are reviewed by one or more of the GCOOS committees and by the Board of Directors. A selection is made based on how the suggested projects will provide data or products of high priority. A number have resulted in working teams to prepare proposals.
The establishment of GCOOS is discussed further in the GCOOS Conceptual Design. That document also relates the GCOOS design for data and products to the seven societal themes of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System; it also gives the prioritized measurements and products from the specific stakeholder workshops held to date.
