The GOES Users's conference was held from May 22 through 24, 2001 in Boulder Colorado, with approximately 200 participants from government, the private sector, academia and the international community. It was organized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with cooperation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the National Weather Association, the World Meteorological Organization, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The goals of the conference were: (1) to inform GOES users of plans for the next generation capabilities; (2) to provide information on the potential applications; (3) to determine user needs for new products, data distribution, and data archiving; (4) to assess potential user and societal benefits of GOES capabilities; and (5) to develop methods to improve communication between the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) and the GOES user community. Sessions included: Planned and Potential Sensors for U.S. Geostationary Satellites; User Requirements, Applications, and Potential Benefits from Future GOES; Future International Geostationary Satellites; and Communications, Ancillary Services and Training Issues. The third day of the conference consisted of facilitated breakout sessions in which the user community provided input to ten questions on their future needs for products, services, data distribution, archiving, training and potential benefits of the next generation GOES to their operations and to society.

This paper will provide a summary of the recommendations provided by the GOES user community focusing on recommendations for the Advanced Baseline Imager and Sounder. It will also provide an outline of plans for a formal process of communication between NESDIS and GOES users, ensuring that the needs of the entire user community are considered in the design of future systems, products and services.