Adam Bode
NOAA Coastal Services Center
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The NOAA Coastal Services Center hosted a Regional Data Management and Portal Development Workshop in Charleston, SC on June 27-28, 2012. The objectives of the workshop were to build awareness among participants of the status of existing regional and national marine information systems; develop strategies for integration of national and regional coastal and marine data and systems-related activities; identify common data management and exchange standards and procedures; and identify methods to increase collaboration among marine data management groups. The workshop report can be found here: link
Based on feedback received during this workshop, the ocean.data.gov team recently created the Marine Planning Portal Network listserv, which will serve as one of the main conduits for communication between state, regional, and national portals, applications, and planning efforts. As systems become more distributed and technology continues to evolve, the need to share information (lessons-learned, best practices, etc) and provide a venue for open dialogue is paramount. This listserv is designed to serve this purpose. If you are interested in joining the listserv, please visit the following link to register - link
In addition to the listserv, the following ideas have been discussed to help spark engagement and continue the discussions from the Workshop:
- Webinar Series - The frequency of these is still to be determined but the initial thought is to have them every other month, focused on the following
- Round Robin Updates - Short updates on the current status of state, regional, and national efforts. Used for quick information sharing and also to spark interest in technical topics, issues, or additional discussion
- Featured Presentation – In-depth presentations/demonstrations of existing products or beta releases
- Technical / Topical Discussions – Based on the input from the Network, these could focus on a certain technical issue, topic, or discussion point. For instance, this could be the start of a discussion on a Network-wide metadata strategy.
- GeoTools Conference Tools Showcase - Similar to the Map Gallery at the ESRI UC, this is an informal opportunity to present/demo your tool and application. A dedicated space may be available to highlight the various state, regional, and national applications and portals.
- Oral Presentation - Based on interest, there may be a track or session dedicated to Regional Data Management and/or Portal Design.
- Informal Network Lunch/Happy Hour - Lastly, there are plans to re-design the Technical Community of Practice (link) within the Ocean Community to serve as a landing page for this Network. The new webpage will more effectively provide access to the best practices and resources most relevant to your efforts and serve as a location where a variety of information relevant to this Network can be accessed.
