Facilitating the Transition of FAA-funded Aviation Weather Research Using Research Evolution Plans (REPs)

Third Conference on Transition of Research to Operations (6-10 January 2013)

Facilitating the Transition of FAA-funded Aviation Weather Research using Research Evolution Plans (REPs)

Overarching guidance and programmatic direction leading to more effective identification, selection, prioritization and management of applied aviation weather research can facilitate the transition of promising research to operational use within the National Airspace System (NAS). The development of Research Evolution Plans (REPs) by the FAA's Aviation Weather Division has met this need. An REP provides overarching guidance and direction for a given area of “bounded” research; convective storms, for example. Taken together, the REPs represent foundational guidance for the FAA's Aviation Weather Research Program (AWRP) and its aviation weather research partners and are used during planning and execution of annual research activities. They are revised periodically to reflect changing user-stated needs, research portfolio priorities and other factors such as availability of funding. Fundamentally, each REP's intent is to connect evolving user and NAS enterprise architecture (EA) requirements to a viable research strategy for a given weather phenomena. They describe how a chosen strategy will notionally produce a capability, or evolutionary line of capabilities, that show promise for eventually meeting established NextGen Full Operational Capability requirements. They also attempt to connect expected research outcomes to notional benefits and thereby improve acquisition viability in a constrained budget environment. Finally, REPs identify policy, infrastructure-related, or other issues associated with a new capability, or evolutionary line of new capabilities, such that planning to resolve those issues can begin well ahead of planned implementation. Bounded annual project plans flow from an associated REP. These annual plans describe each year's deliverables/milestones and those critical “how, where, when and by whom” details needed to deliver a mature capability to operations or a mature concept to follow-on acquisition processes. When appropriate, a Project Plan may guide RE&D activities toward development of scientifically/technically mature capabilities transitioned to the National Weather Service for their production/use or may guide development of a mature research concept for submission to the FAA's Acquisition Management System (AMS). Beginning with the delineation of an evolutionary strategy and ending with the transition of a mature capability or research concept, the FAA's Aviation Weather Division has established a more effective and efficient research transition process. To date, REPs have been published for the following impacting aviation weather phenomena: restricted ceiling and visibility, turbulence and convective storms. An In-Flight Icing REP is in development now for release this spring. More REPs are planned for 2013 to 2014 which may include: winter weather, terminal wind, volcanic ash and space weather. Once published, REPs are expected to be updated approximately every 2-3 years depending on the need and/or the availability of project funding.