This project for Test Enterprise Governance outlines an agile model to identify, test and evaluate governance models to manage the development of Geosciences cyberinfrastructure. This model seeks broad engagement and participation of the EarthCube stakeholders to define and assess governance models while seeking evaluation and cross-checks from advisory committees and evaluation mechanisms.
This proposal employs an iterative deployment across the range of EarthCube stakeholders to encourage transparency, consensus, and inclusiveness. A broad coalition of stakeholder groups will comprise the "Assembly? to serve as a preliminary venue for evaluating and testing governance models in Stage I, while a "Secretariat" will act as the coordinating body throughout the project, carrying out duties such as planning, organizing, communicating, and reporting and serve as an a priori governance test scenario itself. To ensure broader end-user participation in evaluating governance models, a "Crowd-Source? approach will be used for members not involved in the Assembly.
In Stage II, a community selected test governance pilot will be deployed. The organizational structure will be demonstrated and evaluated. The structure and activities related to Stage II demonstration will depend heavily on the outcomes of Stage I. The role of the test governance demonstration is to facilitate community convergence on a reference architecture, procedures for standards, and coordination among emerging EarthCube elements.
The agile approach for Test Enterprise Governance has the potential to advance knowledge by providing community-guided solutions to the governance of cyberinfrastructure for the geosciences. It intends to incorporate multiple science disciplines and encourage broader participation of early career scientists. This proposal encourages cross-disciplinary research and discovery, not only across core science disciplines but also the computer and information sciences.
By building a collaborative, virtual community of practice, this proposal will enable distributed knowledge communities to cooperate, pool resources and work together across disciplines, geography, and cultures. Building upon existing NSF investments in cyberinfrastructure, this proposal allows for, and enables, a diverse set of end users previously unengaged in discussions within cyberinfrastructure - to define expectations, decision-making and leadership processes, leading to a sustainable and adaptable cyberinfrastructure for the geosciences that is extensible and scalable.
A significant responsibility of the Test Enterprise Governance is facilitation of geosciences community activities related to cyberinfrastructure, data policies and standards, and outreach related to these issues. The project will provide web services, forum and other engagement activities to facilitiate this outreach.
