1. Thoughts on Sustainability
5 January 2016
Thoughts on Sustainability
Dr. Nancy Forbes, Senior Strategic Analyst
National Coordination Office
NITRD
For Official Use Only

2. 5 January 2016
NITRD and the NCO
NITRD is an interagency program to enhance coordination and collaboration of Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NIT R&D) that is performed and supported by Federal agencies
FY : $4.1B of IT R&D
The National Coordination Office (NCO) provides support for the NITRD Program, reports to OSTP, and interfaces for NITRD with OMB, GAO, Congress, etc
What NITRD is and what the NCO does.
NITRD is all about coordination and collaboration.
January 15, 2016
UC San Diego CSE
For Official Use Only

3. 5 January 2016
NITRD and the NCO
NITRD is authorized by the HPC Act of 1991, as amended by:
The Next Generation Internet Act of 1998, and
The America COMPETES Act of 2007
Central Provisions
Requires the President to establish NITRD
Requires the Director of OSTP to implement NITRD
Assigns specific functions to NITRD (e.g., coordination, prepare supplement to President’s budget, etc.)
We were created by the Gore Bil – see
And
January 15, 2016
UC San Diego CSE
For Official Use Only

4. NITRD Member Agencies Commerce: NIST, NOAA
5 January 2016
NITRD Member Agencies
Commerce: NIST, NOAA
Defense: DARPA, HPCMOD, NSA, OSD, Service research organizations
Energy: NNSA, SCI, OE
Homeland Security
Environmental Protection Agency
Heath and Human Services: ARHQ, NIH, ONC
National Archives
NASA
NIJ
NRO
NSF
We have groups that coordinate agency research and development activities in:
high-end computing, large-scale networking, high confidence software systems, health IT, big data, visual information analytics, cybersecurity, wireless spectrum, among others.
January 15, 2016
UC San Diego CSE
For Official Use Only

5. Cyberinfrastructure as the start of a new venture
5 January 2016
Cyberinfrastructure as the start of a new venture
NSF, Public/Private Partnerships and Sustainability
GENI, Big Data Hubs, FutureCloud
Attract Resources
Legitimacy
Financial capital
Human capital
Get Up and Running
Phases of development
Become Sustainable or Die
The idea of aiming towards sustainability of infrastructure is growing. NSF, for example, is using it for GENI (as you know), the Big Data Hubs, and NSF FutureCloud.
There are many ways to think about this, but one way is to think of it as launching a new venture. This is the way it was discussed at the Big Data Hubs charrette in November of last year [see for details and a video] These slides are from Dr. Susan Winter of the University of Maryland iSchool, who talked about sustainability.
We know a lot about what new ventures have to do as they get started. Two main causes of new venture failures are: no one is interested in their products or services and too much success at beginning and can’t scale up.
The next steps are extremely difficult to get right
If you don’t get them right, your collaborative will not survive
There are a number of known Best Practices that can help you get them right
5 January 2016
For Official Use Only
For Official Use Only

6. Challenges/Impediments
5 January 2016
Your Environment
What should you consider in your environment?
Resources/Allies
Challenges/Impediments
Resources could be financial, human capital, knowledge capital, computing resources; Allies would be any organizations that would be available to assist, support, cheerlead, supply resources, etc. Challenges could be growth, lack of financial resources, technical problems; Impediments could be regulatory environment, etc.
5 January 2016
For Official Use Only
For Official Use Only

7. Stakeholders investors Suppliers Substitutes New Entrants Competitors
5 January 2016
Stakeholders
investors
Suppliers
New Entrants
Substitutes
Competitors
Who are stakeholders? This is a model that is used in business schools to think about stakeholders for new ventures.
Stakeholders: think about who they are and how much power they have. In the case of GENI, new entrants would be other potential network testbeds that users could access for experimentation and research (how serious is the rivalry?) or you could think of yourself as a new entrant—what are the barriers to entry?; substitutes would be anyone that could supply the same products or services you do—you must think about why someone would use you as opposed to a competitor; suppliers would be any organization that supplies technologies and services needed for the running of GENI; customers would be any of the potential users of GENI. Investors would be one of the major stakeholders, and could be public sector, academic or private/non-profit organizations, foundations, private donors, angel investors, venture capital, SBIR, crowd sourcing, etc. When communicating with them, try to understand what their needs are. Constantly ask yourself, why would a potential investor come to you as opposed to a competitor?
Customers
5 January 2016
For Official Use Only
For Official Use Only

8. Stakeholder Communication Strategy
High
Monitor Interest/Inform Occasionally
Keep Informed & Satisfied
Key Players: Engage Actively & Keep Satisfied
Influence/ Power
Monitor Interest and Keep on Your Side
How will you decide how to communicate with the stakeholders? Here’s a model based on interest and influence. Stay actively engaged with stakeholders. PPPs are inherently complex deals that require significant stakeholder engagement to insure the venture is of interest to all.
Low
Minimal Effort
Fans: Keep Informed & Explain Reasons for Change
Low
High
Interest

9. Process Continues Over Time: Circumstances Change
5 January 2016
Process Continues Over Time: Circumstances Change
Attracting Resources (communications and “marketing”)
Getting Up and Running Better and Better
How do you add more value at each stage?
Remaining Sustainable
Environmental Forces
Customers
Suppliers
New Entrants
Substitutes
Investors
Regulators
For Official Use Only

10. Science & Sustainability Are Governance Outcomes
Most of What Accounts for Success is Not Easily Visible
Only Notice When It Breaks
Cause Hard to Determine
Root Cause Analysis
Challenge: Build the Circumstances that Create Potential Enduring Success