NOAA Fisheries Open Science
Elizabeth Eli Holmes, Ph.D
NMFS Open Science, Lead
NMFS Openscapes, co-PI (data science training and support)
NMFS rep on the NOAA PARR Working Group
NOAA rep on the OSTP subcommittee on Open Science
The overarching vision of NMFS Open Science is to support scientists, developers, resource managers and policy analysts within NOAA Fisheries in fulfilling NOAA and federal Open Science, Open Data, and Open Government mandates.
What is Open Science?
It is a fundamental change in how science is done towards practices and workflows that promote reproducibility, transparency, sharing and collaboration and useability of scientific innovation
Individuals & Teams
Open Science happening globally across all of science
NMFS Open Science - Communications hub
Link to internal site also here
Public: https://nmfs-opensci.github.io
Community Building and Skill Building
Openscapes Champions and Mentors Program
Support for ‘mentors’, organizers, leads
New NMFS data science academy
2024 Areas of Focus
Communication
Training in Cloud Computing and Collaborative Environments
training and workshop hub
for intra-mural or extra-mural activities
Workshops and
Hack Events
New public webpages, newsletters, and events
Julie Lowndes, Openscapes core team member & founding director
Fall 2024
Fall 2024 Champions Program!
Why are we here: Invite NMFS staff to sign up for the Fall: Oct-Dec 2024 (quick link)
All skills and interests welcome - not a coding workshop
Engage • Empower • Amplify
Openscapes helps teams transition to inclusive open science workflows
NMFS Openscapes training in Open Science -- Started 2020
At NMFS, a grassroots effort due to desire from staff for training in Open Science
10 NMFS Champions Cohorts (40 staff ea)
https://nmfs-openscapes.github.io/
U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | National Marine Fisheries Service
Page 8
Why do people join a Champions cohort
As teams or individuals
You (as an individual or team):
Better Stock Assessment Reports at the AFSC’s Marine Mammal Laboratory
Key Themes From Openscapes trainings
“Let’s do better science, in less time, together”
🏄 Surf Sessions at SEFSC Modeled after Openscapes “Seaside Chats”
Goal: “Create digital and physical spaces where group members — despite having differing research questions and expertise — feel comfortable discussing data challenges and seeking, offering and accepting guidance from one another.”
COWORKING
Will work be hybrid?
We can offer and accept guidance about many tools and skills that promote an inclusive, productive, and enjoyable work community.
Adyan Rios, Research Ecologist, Caribbean Fisheries Branch
NMFS Openscapes Champions Cohorts FY 24
Welcoming sign-ups from across NMFS
Details: 3 Concurrent Cohorts Oct-Dec ‘24
We meet synchronously twice monthly, on alternating Tues or Weds.
Sign up by September 23 via this Google Spreadsheet
Ask Us Anything: Sept 5, 11am PT & Sept 11 12pm PT with Eli & Julie
Is this for me?
What questions do you have?
FAQ
Examples of teams from NWFSC fall 2021 cohort
The NWFSC Eco/Stock Assessment Team is a cross-divisional team. The team's will be working on analyses and visualization of fisheries-dependent and -independent data to inform both groundfish stock assessments and integrated ecosystem assessments (IEA). Potential projects include 1) analysis of ecosystem drivers and associated responses, 2) estimation of species-specific habitats in the context of fishing gear utilization, 3) incorporation of ecosystem considerations into stock assessments, 4) visualization of IEA indicator distributions and trends, and/or 5) development of a strata explorer app.
The NWFSC FEAT Team. This team will focus on streamlining data tracking/sharing/processing within the Fisheries Engineering and Acoustic Technologies (FEAT) team, as well as improving onboarding-offboarding of personnel, coordinating Pacific hake biomass calculation dataflow for stock assessors, MSE, and other interested parties.
The NWFSC Protected Salmonids Team. This team will be working on improving data workflow related to protected PNW salmonids. We will be focusing on more robust data workflows: 1) better data tracking, 2) personnel on-boarding systems, 3) loss of critical connections with our diverse data partners when staff retire or leave, and 4) implementing more automated data workflows.
Examples of teams from AFSC winter 2022 cohort
2020-1
2024-7
2022-3
As part of the NOAA Fisheries Data Modernization Strategy - funded for 3 years: we plan to work with all six NMFS science centers, five regional offices, and the Office of Science & Technology. We have 3 synergistic Objectives:
PIs Eli Holmes, NMFS Open Science & NWFSC
Julie Lowndes, Openscapes
1. Develop a mentor community - across NMFS centers/offices to strengthen Open Science skills at their center/office, co-create reusable resources for NMFS-specific scientific products, and empower their colleagues via local activities and trainings. > Starting summer 2024
2. Engage and empower scientific teams - support transition to Open Science and reproducible scientific workflows and high-functioning teams through the Openscapes’ Champions and Pathways to Open Science programs > Fall 2024
3. Amplify open practices with NMFS Mentors - leverage synergistic efforts at NMFS & NOAA. Focus on opportunities and recognition for staff who support their colleagues, which is critical to upskilling the NMFS workforce, deepening leadership capacity within NOAA, and connecting to the global Open movement.
Vision: NMFS Openscapes FY 2024-2027
Openscapes team trainings are changing how NOAA Fisheries does science
“Doing more with less has transitioned, unfortunately, to doing less with less. If the trend continues, we risk the less we are doing becoming meaningless. We should be focussing on doing different with less. Openscapes gives us the framework to fundamentally change our culture and approach so the science we do remains meaningful to the country.”
Josh London, PhD
Wildlife Biologist in the Polar Program at the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center
Train teams in the skills to have open solution-oriented discussions.
Break down silos across the line office by bringing staff from offices together.
Start solving the solvable problems to get moving forward.
Practice and feel safe working openly with yourself and your team; then ease into more.
Slack; Efficiency Tips & Inclusion Tips.
Welcoming folks with diverse backgrounds; meeting where they are; skills to empower immediate work; kinder science.
Not a checklist - a continual practice. Imperfect, messy. Takes time.
Openscapes approach
Why teams? Collaborative infrastructure & culture change
Biggest impact: research teams work more openly & effectively together
Teams reframe analysis as collaborative effort not an individual burden, work openly internally first to streamline work/life for Future Us.
less reinventing & loneliness • funding goes further • co-creating norms promoting diversity, equity & inclusion • new folks onboard to projects faster
What is a team?
Champions teams might have shared projects, but many do not. You can sign up as an individual too.
The intent is to strengthen relationships and shared systems with folks with different responsibilities and skills, so there is less reinventing and less knowledge lost. Some Champions have said that “finding their teams” – finding what’s common and feeling less alone – has been the most valuable part of Openscapes.
Champions Program helps research teams transition to inclusive open data science workflows
“No more emailing code!”
“where we started: head down, then look up and there’s a whole open source world that feels aspirational”
Engage • Empower • Amplify
Teams we’ve worked with:
Part of the global Open Science movement
"We have to tackle a really hard problem: changing the cultural norms that are preventing us from embracing new ideas, truly working together and moving forward."
- NASA Transform to Open Science (TOPS) Initiative
Open science as part of the climate movement