The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released its final Data Strategy – on the heels of its final Cloud Strategy – to most effectively accelerate data use across the agency.
“With this update, NOAA will modernize how users are able to access and use data,” director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Kelvin Droegemeier said. “We look forward to the discoveries and applications that will ultimately come from the implementation of these strategies.”
The Data Strategy strives to improve the management and overall value of the agency’s data and to help it meet mission goals. Additionally, NOAA said it is “designed to serve as a framework for consistency that builds upon existing laws and regulations related to how NOAA uses and manages data, while being flexible and adaptable to external influences such as new policies, Executive Orders, stakeholder input, and new technologies that drive innovation within the agency.”
NOAA highlights that the overall goal of the Data Strategy is to achieve readiness for tomorrow’s data landscape. To meet that goal, the agency identified a subset of goals to help get there:
- Work towards aligning data management leadership roles across NOAA;
- Govern and manage data strategically to most effectively use taxpayer investment;
- Share data openly and widely to best promote maximum utilization of data;
- Promote data innovation and quality improvements to facilitate science and support data-driven decision making; and
- Engage stakeholders and leverage partnerships to maximize NOAA data.
“The value of NOAA’s data depends on its quality, integrity, and the ability of users to access and use the data with modern, emerging, and innovative cloud-based services,” acting NOAA administrator Neil Jacobs said. “Our Cloud and Data strategies provide a guide to address emerging science and technology, and ultimately help accelerate NOAA’s mission and further increase the value of our data.”
