HR: 1330h
AN: OS43A-11    [Abstracts]
TI: Developing a More "Citizen-Centered" Coral Reef Information System: Engaging the Coral Reef Community To Assess User Needs and Improve Coral Reef Science Communication
AU: Taylor, K
EM: karen.taylor@noaa.gov
AF: NOAA Coral Reef Information System (CoRIS), SSMC3 4th Floor, E/OC3 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282 United States
AU: * McCaffrey, M
EM: mark.mccaffrey@colorado.edu
AF: CIRES Education and Outreach University of Colorado - Boulder, Campus Box 449, Boulder, CO 80309 United States
AB: With 35 million web pages and 22,000 websites, the U.S. Federal Government through the E-Government Act 2002 directs those who develop and maintain these websites to become more "citizen-centered." One required activity of the act is to "sponsor ongoing dialogue with interested parties (including state, local, and tribal governments, private and non-profit sectors, and the general public) to find innovative ways to use IT to improve the delivery of Government information and services" (Sec 101, 3602). One of the websites that has begun to engage such parties is the NOAA Coral Reef Information System (CoRIS), which is designed to provide the public with access to NOAA's coral reef data and information from a single location. CoRIS has, through two usability workshops conducted by staff from the Coastal Services Center, and a series of stakeholder meetings held in the Fall of 2003 in American Samoa and Hawai'i and the Fall of 2004 in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, sought to address the needs of users, both internal and external to NOAA. The goal was to select a set of test participants that represented the CoRIS project's targeted users (researchers, managers, general public) and provide an overview of the web site to demonstrate its resources and capabilities. The findings of the workshops and meetings are being used by the CoRIS development team to respond to user needs as part of an iterative process to improve utility and usability of the website and better understand how to present often complex scientific information to address a variety of user needs and local issues. Based on recommendations from the feedback of current and potential users of the CoRIS website from meetings held in the Fall of 2004, the development team has adopted a series of usability requirements to be implemented in the coming year. Participants of the meetings have suggested that CoRIS engage with user communities, including Local Action Strategy (LAS) efforts, to assess user requirements and develop products and interfaces to meet their specific user needs, to add background materials for non-technical audiences on how to access and interpret various data types, and would benefit from a non-internet based version of CoRIS. The CoRIS development team is currently seeking advisement on how best to move forward with these efforts to create a more "citizen-centered" Coral Reef Information System.
UR: http://www.coris.noaa.gov
DE: 6339 System design
DE: 6344 System operation and management
DE: 6600 PUBLIC ISSUES
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly