Leveraging Research at the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory: Accelerating R2X with NOAA operations and applications partners

The NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL) conducts a range of user-focussed research with the aim of transitioning knowledge and technical research findings across a range of operation and application output types across and beyond NOAA, including the NOAA National Weather Service, National Ocean Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. These include innovations currently or in the process of transitioning including the Environmental Modeling Center for the Unified Forecast System (i.e. software such as new or improved parameterizations); the Evaporative Demand Drought Index as a new product type for the Climate Prediction Center; a suite of contributions to wildfire air quality predictions; and a wide swath radar altimeter for tropical cyclone observations and forecasting; and developing enhanced subseasonal to seasonal high tide flooding outlooks with the National Ocean Service. R2A examples include a UAS sensor package for NOAA Research science missions, a Climate Portal for application of ocean climate futures by NOAA Fisheries as part of the Climate, Ecosystems and Fisheries Initiative (CEFI).

We will illustrate the transition process with PSL real world examples, best practices and lessons learned from these ongoing and past transitions and the ongoing collaborations that support these transitions. This presentation will provide timelines from specific transition efforts to illustrate the time needed, sometimes across multiple funding cycles. One value of the transition process is to discuss together how code will be implemented, formal processes for changing an NWS product, or air worthiness testing, things that the research side might not naturally consider. One best practice is that activities to develop and sustain partnerships with operational and applications partners benefits both research planning and eventual pathways for R2X. These activities include attending partner or partner-focused meetings, such as their professional society or planning meetings is beneficial. PSL has also invested in staff doing assignments, sometimes called details, and visits to or from partner offices to support ongoing communication. We have also found that documenting and planning for R2X can be productive even ahead of readiness levels where formal transition plans are required (at RL-5 and above). At this lower RL stage, the work may be more exploratory towards those goals, and specifics for a full transition plan may not yet be known. Thus, PSL is developing and using collaboration plans as a way to document and structure work with NOAA partners on common goals at the point when formal transition plans may not yet be required. Challenges to transitions will also be discussed, including lapses in funding between project awards, changes in priorities at operational partners, and changes in staffing across both research and operations during the process, challenges with the uptake of innovations on the receiving side.

This presentation will highlight strategies that have proved successful, including overcoming challenges, and how PSL is working within and in the NOAA community to improve approaches to transition planning going forward.