Advancing Water Resources Research and Management

1999 Annual Summer Specialty Conference Proceedings
Science Into Policy: Water in the Public Realm / Wildland Hydrology
Bozeman, Montana, June 30 - July 2, 1999

GETTING IT OFF THE LOADING DOCK: HOW THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY IS PUTTING SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION INTO THE HANDS OF USERS

Gail A Wendt and Kenneth J. Lanfear ⁽¹⁾

INTRODUCTION

The new motto of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), “science for a changing world,” thrusts science into the policy-making arena, for there can be no more of a changing world than that of public policy. So how does a 120-year old federal science agency become an effective communicator of science? It takes a change of “corporate culture” and a generous infusion of new technology. The potential that communications technology now offers science is fantastic and far reaching. It needs only to be fueled by imagination and perhaps a bit of old-fashioned chutzpah to put scientific data and information into the hands of those who make policy.

“LOADING DOCK MENTALITY”

The USGS loading dock, Building 810, Denver Federal Center.

The Chief of the USGS Water Resources Division challenged the organization to get its information products "off the loading dock" and into the hands of customers. He recognizes that we are already doing good science at the USGS, but that we stop short of effective communication. The image that he uses is that of USGS hydrologists producing scientifically credible reports and data sets and carrying them to a loading dock. They proudly set them down, dust off their hands, and then turn back to produce more good science. The science is left to sit on the loading dock and wait for customers that may not know or care about its existence.

For years, the USGS has had this “loading-dock mentality,” although we were not conscious of it. We believed that our science was so good that, somehow, people would seek it out and use it. We published our professional papers in our own good time, according to the meticulous standards of our publication series, or let our science find light in peer-reviewed journals. In today's fast-paced, information-rich society, this is not good enough. We need to be using every vehicle available to communicate science. The popular press, television, radio, talk shows, the Internet, trade and technical publications, exhibits and trade shows, special events, and good old-fashioned schmoozing with the Rotary Club and the local Chamber of Commerce are all opportunities to communicate the message of science and its connections to public policy. Being passive, letting the information sit on the loading dock, is an attitude that a publicly supported agency cannot afford. We cannot be complacent about communication.

A MOUNTAIN OF BOOKS AND REPORTS

The USGS’s physical loading dock is attached to a huge government warehouse, a one- time airplane hangar at the Denver Federal Center. This is the main distribution facility for USGS maps and reports. In reality, it served mostly as a storage facility to keep our information. Warehouse space was stretched to capacity with boxes stacked upon boxes -- 93 million map sheets and more than 7 million books -- reaching to the ceiling and blocking the light. The distribution facility was reengineered as part of the National Performance Review, part of Vice President Gore's effort to make a “government that works better and costs less.” The reengineered USGS distribution center has evolved into a business-savvy, well-inventoried operation. It has bar-coded products arranged in "golden zones" for fast order fulfillment. Order time to the customer is reduced from many weeks to a handful of days. Credit card orders are welcome. Soon, an online catalog of its products will point customers to the geographically closest commercial dealer for USGS maps and other products.

Reengineering distribution was a big step in getting USGS products off the loading dock, using proven business systems and practices. But it was only one piece of the communications puzzle that had to be reanalyzed, reorganized, and reengineered to bring us into the full potential of the electronic information age. There was a necessary change in mindset as well – an acknowledging that the impartial and unbiased science of which the USGS is so justifiably proud had to be communicated in order to be truly justified. Good science has to be used and can not exist merely for its own sake. We need a willingness to recognize the positive impact of successful communication and to understand how technology can increase that potential.

A CRISIS GIVES IMPETUS TO TECHNOLOGY

We had become quite good at being a relatively obscure scientific agency, known to a small cadre of customers who valued our expertise. And then the wake-up call came. We found ourselves on the “hit list” of some powerful and influential political forces. The 1994 “Contract with America” named agencies headed for the chopping block and there was the USGS on the list! Suddenly the game was not one of increased support, but of simple survival.

It is said that in times of adversity an individual or an organization finds its greatest strength. This may have been true for USGS, as the need to change our ways gave impetus to adopting new technologies like the World Wide Web (Web). The USGS emerged from this period wiser and more resolute, better attuned to the needs of our customers, and more technologically capable of meeting their needs.

The Web and the Internet are a lifeline for the USGS and its customers. USGS embraced Web technology early and seriously, establishing a network of websites and making a commitment to place as much information as possible on the Web. In 1997, the USGS website was one of two Federal websites named to the prestigious Webmaster Magazine “50/50 List” of the sites that best served their organization’s purpose. The communications capabilities of the Web have put the USGS into the forefront of scientific information delivery and, in the process, provided information that has saved the lives of customers that the we never even knew we had.

FROM “A LONG TIME” TO “REAL-TIME”

The internal mindset of USGS changed from one of "Why do you want to release the data so soon?" to one of "Why haven't you released the data yet?" Public release of streamflow data, for example, once waited for annual volumes to be checked, edited, typeset, printed and delivered. Fearing misuse of provisional data, USGS was ultraconservative in releasing data only after the most painstaking quality assurance. In 1995, however, USGS took the bold step of serving “real-time” streamflow data –- basically raw data that comes straight from streamside sensors via satellite with no review -- on the Web. Public response to “real-time” streamflow data was more enthusiastic than anyone could have guessed.

The USGS discovered a new market for its streamflow information in a customer segment we had not realized we could serve. We once assumed that streamflow data was useful primarily to dam and reservoir operators, highway engineers, or natural resource managers. These customers are still important to us, but the Web also serves a huge, supportive (and, we have found, very vocal) secondary market of recreational water customers. From whitewater rafters to trout fishermen, to canoe rental companies, water enthusiasts have become a steadfast and appreciative audience for real-time streamflow data. The recreational segment of the marketplace is influential and well connected. The groups to whom many of these customers belong are powerful forces that are listened to and whose advice and counsel are sought. Not all paths to the public policy arena are straight and narrow!

Another important customer segment that has found real-time streamflow to be essential to their conduct of business is the emergency planning and response community. Fire and rescue teams, community emergency officials, and homeowners confronting rising floodwaters at their very doorstep have embraced the availability of real-time and historical streamflow information on the Web as a lifeline. These users have responded to the USGS with grateful endorsements for this service.

"Your site has been the best source of river information we have ever been able to obtain to make rescue and evacuation decisions. ...Your work and site is much appreciated and invaluable to us!!! Thanks from the citizens in Hays County."
Emergency Management Official, Texas
"This is not a request. It's a compliment. Congratulations on putting together an excellent and useful source of information on the web. I've used it a lot in the last few weeks. ... I have found that by checking the flows ... I can anticipate increases here and make necessary repairs to dikes and levees. My thanks to you."
Farmer, Texas
"It is 4 AM in the morning. I am right in the middle of the flood on the Snake River. ... The water is now 3 inches to the top of my foundation. I just wanted to let you know that the information I can get off this web page has been invaluable. Thank you so much. No other source of information I can get has been as current or accurate as you wonderful people."
Homeowner, Idaho

REVISING THE PUBLICATIONS PROCESS

Behind the public face of the Web are those reinvented internal processes that ensure USGS’s communications policy keeps pace with communications potential. Cumbersome publications approval processes have given way to an enlightened and distributed approval process. The point of approval has been shifted to the lowest appropriate level in the organization, close to the writer and the user, rather than centralized in one-size-fits-all approach. An online Reports Tracking System tracks reports from their inception to their publication and delivery. The system provides a data base for archiving reports and tracking progress and performance of a project and its scientists. For those who need to communicate the availability of reports and information, the Reports Tracking System also provides a way to look down the pipeline to see what is coming. With that intelligence, we can prepare strategies for effectively communicating with waiting customers.

New reports with time-sensitive information are now announced immediately on the For Immediate Release page of the USGS website, rather than waiting for the publication of the Monthly List of New Publications of the USGS. This removed a 1- to 2-month lag time in announcing a report. With fax broadcast capability, email notification, and online listservers, along with traditional mailings, the USGS has a heavy arsenal of communications tools at its disposal to spread information rapidly to a wide base of customers.

Further automation and technology innovation will enable the USGS to generate its water-resources abstract service from the Reports Tracking System and the For Immediate Release mechanisms, providing for "no-hands" delivery of abstracts to information-hungry customers. A USGS-wide automatic numbering system that generates a unique report number from information input to the Reports Tracking System will reduce the need for human intervention in processing and tracking reports.

DISTRIBUTING INFORMATION

Although modernized, the communications picture is still not complete. The loading dock – the real one or the new online one -- can be filled with reports ready for distribution, but they will still sit there unused if proactive means are not used to market the reports to the customer. An overstocked loading dock is symptomatic of a reactive, production-oriented response to customers. In its recently redefined mission statement, the USGS Water Resources Division made a commitment to "actively promote" the use of its information by its customers. Now, the combination of tried-and-true communications methods, coupled with the power of electronic technology and the presence of the Web, have galvanized the loading dock into a launch pad for information.

We actually use the term "launch" to characterize our strategy for getting information off the loading dock and into the hands of policymaking and other customers. With early intelligence of upcoming products, we now analyze each report of national import or particularly relevant science for its target audience and its potential impact on policy or management decisions. Then, we pointedly communicate with those audiences using the most effective method of delivery. The difference between information delivery and old-style information dissemination is the difference between a cruise missile and a dandelion: precision delivery of information right to the target versus shaking a downy head of information to hopefully float slowly to fertile customer ground.

A report or information may be delivered in a number of ways. A news release will convey the most newsworthy points in the report to the mainstream print and electronic media, as well as to the trade and technical press. News releases afford an opportunity for a quote from an official or a tie-in to current events. They also serve as a convenient vehicle to send to other-than media targets, such as legislators, scientific colleagues, allied trade associations and professional societies.

A cover note attached to a report can be tailored to an individual with whom you want to make a particular point. A generic note to a community of customers, (e.g. "Dear Water Resources Colleague") provides a more pointed touch. Inviting a review of the report from the trade and technical press is an effective way to ensure that the report's message is couched in someone else's voice, making the message less self-serving and leveraging the message to a broader audience of the constituency and membership of those organizations.

Timing the release of a report to a significant scientific milestone, a public policy event, or the anniversary of a flood can provide an effective and proactive way to deliver your message. Op-eds (opposing editorials), whether in the daily or the trade press, can be keyed to a new report in response to an editorial or issue playing in the press. These actions bring science into the public policy debate. Ever mindful of the strength of its reputation as an unbiased and impartial scientific agency, the USGS is extremely cautious to avoid appearing to be advocating any particular legislation, regulation, or political agenda. However, we have a responsibility to show our public audience where science is a necessary player in the business of public policy.

The value of face-to-face communication, particularly in the policy arena, cannot be overlooked in a communications strategy. As a follow-on to the release of summary reports for the National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA), the USGS was invited by the Water Environment Federation to participate in a series of four briefings on Capitol Hill. These briefings brought the findings of the NAWQA program directly into the hands of individuals who need to have the benefit of this information in the development of policy to support improved water quality. The ability for the USGS to broadly advertise these briefings was aided by a customer management data base that had been developed to enhance our contacts in the water policy arena. The launch strategy for the NAWQA summaries included supporting letters from organizations, such as the Water Environment Federation and the Interstate Council on Water Policy. We also included a postage-paid reply card to update customer information and solicit their needs for information on various water subjects. The customer data base used for this launch is evolving into a more comprehensive base of customer information that will help the USGS to effectively target information to customers, based on their voluntarily stated needs and interests.

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

Where surface mail was once the only means of delivery, now faxes fly to assignment desks at television stations, emails alert reporters to science news they can use in tomorrow's first edition, and the Web has become the first place an information gatherer looks for timely and pertinent facts and data. One downside of the Web as part of one's communications arsenal is that it is a passive means of reaching your customer. The customer has to come to your site, which first presupposes that your customer knows who you are, where you are, and what you have to offer. It also assumes that when the customers arrive online at your Web site, they will be able to find the information you are trying to offer them. That passive aspect is why there needs to be a full suite of communications tools employed to effectively ensure that your information hits its target. Active means must be used to broadcast the availability of Web-served information. Broadcast faxes, email, listservers, postcards, and direct-mail flyers, are all ways to easily and quickly point a customer to a Web site of particular interest to them.

The Web also offers the opportunity to combine electronic media with traditional print products to develop and serve a rich suite of information products to customers. Reports themselves can be served online in a variety of formats that give customers the ability to choose how they want to download, store, or segment-out information for their needs. Accompanying video clips or animation sequences can be served on the Web that enhance and broaden the impact of a printed product. Data bases that are reported on in a print product can be served to a customer, allowing their own investigation and application of the data. Derivative products, such as fact sheets, selected graphics, and source material, can all be provided electronically, thus increasing the impact of a single body of scientific information.

CONCLUSIONS

With a proactive communications strategy, enhanced by the rapidly evolving technology of electronic communications and the Web, the USGS has the tools it needs to provide scientific information about the Nation's water resources to policymakers and the public. We live in a dynamic and changing world, one that will only be made better by the inclusion of detailed knowledge of the Earth, its resources, its natural processes, and the environment in which we all live. That better world is what public service is all about. That has become the constant mantra that is before the USGS: everything we do should be about making a better world for its citizens.

In this better world, we can plan a white water rafting trip, keep our homes and families safe from flood waters, and receive the scientific information needed to participate as informed citizens in the democratic process. Public policy must be informed by scientific data and environmental information that is sound, reliable, usable, and timely. We must assure that our information is delivered into the hands of our many customers -- legislators, managers, policymakers, and an informed public -- who's job it is to make the world a better place for all of us.

1. Respectively, Chief, Customer Relations and Communication, and Chief, World Wide Web Program, Office of Information, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 439, Reston, Virginia 20192.

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