Governance and cyberinfrastructure in the Earth system sciences

Paul N. Edwards

School of Information and Dept. of History, University of Michigan

EarthCube goal “…to design, build, and maintain an easy-to-

use system based on existing resources that embraces open-source culture and methods to align technology development with scientific needs.”

Richard et al. “Community‐developed Geoscience Cyberinfrastructure.” Eos 95, no. 20 (2014): 165-166

Governance: formal vs. informal

The Tower of Babel… Heritage of multiple

disciplines, sensors, data analysis methods

Cacophony of formats, metadata, software

Earthcube survey of ~175 scientists (2011): need… Common data formats Better metadata and

metadata standards Better ways to find data Coupled web-based

services, such as visualization tools

Cyberinfrastructure and climate change informatics (Rood & Edwards 2014)

R. B. Rood & P. N. Edwards, “Climate Informatics: Human Experts and the End-to-End System,” Earthzine, May 2014

The loading dock model of cyberinfrastructure

Data Models Services

Loading Dock Model

Access is not the main problem Beyond the loading dock model Need for translational information for (many)

particular users and uses Human communication — often informal —

remains the most basic process for effective data sharing

Metadata as product vs. metadata as process Always provide for communication with data

creators

This morning A little history of infrastructure … and of governance in meteorology What is governance? Governance and software in Earth system

science

This morning A little history of infrastructure … and of governance in meteorology What is governance? Governance and software in Earth system

science

Infrastructure: a historical model

Paul N. Edwards

System building: designed, coherent, centrally organized

Proliferation of systems; variation

Networks: dedicated gateways link heterogeneous systems

Internetworks: generic gateways link heterogeneous networks

Decentralization, fragmentation

Abandonment, substitution

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Edwards et al. 2007

Dedicated or improvised gateways (Egyedi 2001)

Paul N. Edwards

Whose responsibility?

Who sets standards?

Who pays?

Computer networks link computers

Paul N. Edwards

Generic gatewaysthe ISO standard container

Paul N. Edwards

Internetworks link networks

Paul N. Edwards

Routers are gateways connect computers to

each other (network) … and connect the

local network to other networks

“The” Internet connects millions of networks

This morning A little history of infrastructure … and of governance in meteorology What is governance? Governance and software in Earth system

science

1872 War Dept. synoptic mapPaul N. Edwards

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The Victorian Internet (Standage 1998):British telegraph network, 1890

1870 1900

1930 1960

Surface station coverage: evolution

Source: J. Hansen and S. Lebedeff, “Global Trends of Measured Surface Air Temperature,” Journal of Geophysical Research 92, no. D11 (1987), 13,346-13,347. Diameter of circles drawn around each station is 1200 km.

Stages in the history of weather forecasting

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Systems: national weather services Set own standards

Networks: national and international The Réseau Mondial

Internetworks Integrating

heterogeneous data sources Surface stations Air bases and airports Marine data Satellites

Governance International

Meteorological Organization (1873-1949)

World Meteorological Organization (WMO, founded 1950)

Set standards, assisted coordination — but lightweight relative to national services

an internetwork

World Weather Watch• Planned early

1960s

• Operational 1968

This morning A little history of infrastructure … and of governance in meteorology What is governance? Governance and software in Earth system

science

What is governance? Aligning an organization’s practices and

procedures with its goals, purposes, and values

Oversight, steering, and articulating organizational norms and processes vs. management: detailed planning, supervision of

work, allocation of effort

Modes of governanceHierarchy Network (of

firms)Market or firm

Bazaar

Contractualframework

Employment contract

Neoclassical contract

Property contract

Open source license

Incentives intensity

Low Medium High Low

Control intensity

High Medium Low Low

Social relations

Strong ties Strong ties Anonymous Mostly anonymous or weak ties

Membership

Employees selected

Members select each other

Buyer selected by seller

Open; many free riders

Timeframe Long-term commitment

Long-term commitment

Transaction or contract

Variable; no commitment

Source: adapted from B. Demil and X. Lecocq, “Neither Market Nor Hierarchy Nor Network: The Emergence of Bazaar Governance,” Organization studies 27, no. 10 (2006): 1447-66

Open source culture: bazaar governance E. Raymond, “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”

Linux is ‘a great babbling bazaar of differing agendas and approaches’

Characteristic: chaotic market, huge variations in quality

“Low levels of control and weak incentives intensity are distinctive features of bazaar [governance], lending a high uncertainty to governed transactions.”

Source: B. Demil and X. Lecocq, “Neither Market Nor Hierarchy Nor Network: The Emergence of Bazaar Governance,” Organization Studies 27, no. 10 (2006): 1447-1466.

…but how does governance really work?

Highly competent groups can get a lot done without much management from above —

but there are limits to leaderless teams, especially when work is time-sensitive and requires coordinating complex, interdependent activity.

This morning A little history of infrastructure … and of governance in meteorology What is governance? Governance and software in Earth system

science

Organizations in science… Organizations provide space, equipment, money,

and support Stable, long-lasting (decades) Well-defined roles and routines

Have boundaries, hierarchies, and entrenched cultures Research (NCAR, GFDL, universities) vs. operational

(NOAA, NASA, DOE) National laboratories and military research Funding agencies (NSF, NIH) and foundations

They strongly structure work incentives and disincentives

… vs. projects ...but most scientific work takes place in

projects, teams, and working groups Varying sizes Lifespans vary, but mostly short (1-5 years)

Depend heavily on funding cycles Often cross organizational boundaries Many scientists are involved in several

projects at once Overlapping membership

Funding is an ongoing concern

Governance: norms & rules (Elinor Ostrom)

Constitutional rules Collective choice rules Operational norms and rules

Operational norms and rules Expectations that govern everyday interaction

among project members Largely informal and tacit (unarticulated)

May be embedded in organizational routines or tools

Usually surface only during crisis or conflict Difficult to change without a forcing factor

Tools can embody operational norms — but usually can’t force changes

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Cyberinfrastructure pitfalls Software makes it seem easy to build

gateways between systems and networks… “You just…”

… but social, institutional, and security gateways are even more important Multiple institutional cultures Complex projects with many working groups Multiple security and legal standards can block

interchange

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Conclusions: some lessons from history Centralized design and control is not the

primary path to working infrastructure Instead, build gateways (couplers)

Standards technologies, institutions Must be lightweight, readily understood, easily

transferred across regions and cultures (including disciplinary cultures)

International governance of data standardization and exchange in meteorology was achieved by the 1960s in the face of enormous technical obstacles

(communication channels) and social obstacles (Cold War, decolonization)

EarthCube goal “…to design, build, and maintain an easy-to-

use system based on existing resources that embraces open-source culture and methods to align technology development with scientific needs.”

Richard et al. “Community‐developed Geoscience Cyberinfrastructure.” Eos 95, no. 20 (2014): 165-166

Conclusions: some lessons from history The tensions between hierarchy, network, and

bazaar modes of governance will be difficult to resolve

Cyberinfrastructure can help, but it can also hinder Social and organizational issues must be

addressed along with technology The EarthCube experiment is enormously

important, and worth doing!

April 9, 2023Paul N. Edwards , University of Michigan School of Information

Edwards et al., Knowledge Infrastructures: Intellectual Frameworks and Research Challenges (2013)

knowledgeinfrastructures.org