Community Services

Status Report: October 2010 - April 2011

Linda Miller, Doug Dirks, Jeff Weber

Strategic Focus Areas

Community Services supports the following Unidata funding proposal focus areas:

1. Broadening participation and expanding community services
   We coordinate with our governing committees to find ways to expand Unidata's community participation. We use our web site, electronic newsletters, and social media to keep community members informed about enhanced data services, software tools, and cyberinfrastructure.
2. Advancing data services
   We work with government and industry data providers to secure access to data for Unidata community members.
   
3. Developing and deploying useful tools
   We promote Unidata tools and software for multi-disciplinary use, with an eye toward finding additional research and educational communities that can benefit from our work.
4. Enhancing user support services
   We monitor and collaborate with data sources to stay apprised of impending changes and to advocate for the needs of our user community. We provide user workshops, tutorials, and community workshops to help build supportive relationships between community members.
6. Promoting diversity by expanding opportunities
   We participate in UCAR/NCAR and NSF projects for underrepresnted populations and minority communities (SOARS, AIHEC, outreach to HBCUs). We provide services and tools to facilitate education and research in diverse communities. We work to broaden the Unidata community by participating in student and professional conferences.

Activities Since the Last Status Report

Monthly E-Letter

Publication of the monthly e-letter continued in this time period. Some highlights:

• A report on the China Meteorologial Administration's use of the IDV
• A discussion of an extension to the NetCDF Climate and Forecast metadata convention
• Monthly status updates on the NAWIPS to AWIPS II transition
• Ongoing responses from Unidata developers to the Unidata member survey

In addition, there has been ongoing preparation for a transition from monthly e-letter publication to more frequent blog-style publication. The News@Unidata blog launched at the beginning of April, along with the redesigned web site.

Community Outreach and Services

• Maintaining an active role in the NAWIPS migration to AWIPS II with NWS and NCEP
• Participated in the session for Earth and Space Science Informatics (ESSI) as co-chair, and also judged for the ESSI student posters at AGU, San Francisco
• AMS Annual Meeting and career fair, coordinated with Stefan Cecelski, student rep to UserComm to participate at Unidata's first exhibit at the student conference
• Met with WSI representatives to discuss USPLN global lightning distribution to the university community
• Worked with NOAA on Dual Pol data distribution
• Coordinated with NOAA to delay the NOAAport dual broadcast, due to receiver issues. This date has been delayed to April 18-May 17, 2011, providing time for users to purchase and modify receivers for the dual broadcast.
• Occasional seminars
• Performed as a wizard in the Super Science Saturday Showcase.
• Outreach activity to BVSD to educate elementary students on the sun, earth, and moon. We worked with NCAR/HAO on this activity.
• Working with Ben Domenico on the climate/forecast initiative with the AIP.
• Participating on the NCAR Science Advisory Committee to improve the displays at the Mesa Lab.
• Actively engaged in the AMS's Committee to Improve Climate Change Communication (CICCC) and became a member of the Professional Affairs Working Group of the CICCC.
• Attended and co-hosted the 11th Asia-Pacific Satellite Data Exchange and Utilization Meeting, 2-6 May 2011.
• Presented a talk on Unidata at the N-Wave Stakeholder Users Conference in Boulder, 11 May 2011.

Social Media Outreach Activities

• We have begun more-frequent updates to the Facebook and Twitter feeds
• We have established an official Facebook "Page," and begun making all posts from the Page rather than from individual Unidata staff members
• We have updated the information about Unidata available via the Facebook page

Planned Activities

Ongoing Activities

We plan to continue the following activies:

• NAWIPS migration to AWIPS II and related issues
• NOAAPort dual broadcast dates and implementation
• Ongoing development of news articles for publication through News@Unidata
• Continue to support and contribute to governing committees
• Seminars
• Outreach
• Engagement with professional societies

New Activities

We plan to organize or take part in the following:

• Participating in the 2011 Satellite Direct Readout Conference
• Trip Report
• Presentation on collaboration at the NOAA Network Advisory Meeting
• Workshop planning and coordination

Relevant Metrics

Statistics from the Community pages on the Unidata web site.

All Community pages

Most recent six months (October 1, 2010 - March 31, 2011)

• 15,411 unique pageviews
• 2.2% of total unique pageviews to site
  (down 0.4% over previous period)

Top community pages, October 1, 2010 - March 31, 2011

1. www.unidata.ucar.edu/legal/participation.html
   • 2246 unique pageviews
   • 14.6% of total community unique pageviews
     (up 1.1% over previous period)
2. www.unidata.ucar.edu/community/communityjobs.html
   • 926 unique pageviews
   • 6.0% of total community unique pageviews
     (same as previous period)
3. All newsletter pages
   • 3973 unique pageviews
   • 25.8% of total community unique pageviews
     (up 0.3% over previous period)

Prepared March 2011