Facing tomorrow’s challenges—U.S. Geological Survey science in the decade 2007–2017

Abstract

In 1996, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) drafted a strategic plan that considered the internal and external drivers and challenges we faced at that time.It was intended as a 10year view of the future, establishing goals that would guide the USGS into the next century.It served its purpose well-but the drivers and challenges the Nation faces today are markedly different from those of 1996, and by 2006 the USGS needed a new strategic science vision.The science strategy presented in this document was prepared by the Science Strategy Team (SST), a group of USGS scientists selected for its broad range of expertise, experience in strategic thinking, and proven customer relationship-building skills.The charter (see Appendix) tasked the SST to develop "… a comprehensive vision, with science goals and priorities that unite all bureau capabilities toward challenges for the future …."The major objective was to guide planning over the next decade by identifying opportunities for the USGS to better use its remarkable scientific capabilities to serve the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Nation.The resulting high-level strategy does not reflect all aspects of USGS work; in fact, it does not directly deal with the details of many things that the USGS does extremely well and that are critical to the mission.The intent is that the science strategy will outline areas where natural science can make substantial contributions to the well-being of the Nation and the world.This strategy is intended to inform long-term approaches to USGS program planning, technology investment, partnership development, and workforce and human capital strategies.This science strategy builds upon a hierarchy of planning documents.It provides a science-based response to the overarching DOI strategic plan and is a follow-up to the 1993 publication, "The U.S. Geological Survey: A Vision for the 21st Century."The present document differs from two previous strategic plans (those of 1995-2005 and 2000-2009), which were heavily operational in their focus.The current portfolio of USGS monitoring and research efforts has evolved under comprehensive planning processes at a variety of organizational levels.Planning documents have been produced at the discipline, program, center, team, and project levels.All of these previous planning efforts contributed to this report.The process of developing the strategy was launched at a meeting of the full SST in early February 2006.Team members initially reviewed a range of strategy documents from a spectrum of governmental and nongovernmental sources.Within the USGS, the SST sought input from USGS program coordinators, senior scientists, an advisory group of about 50 USGS researchers selected for their breadth of expertise, a USGS leadership training class, and ultimately, the entire USGS workforce.Subsets of the SST met with groups of employees at several USGS worksites.A Customer Listening Session that focused on developing the science strategy was held in Washington, D.C., May 1, 2006, and SST members attended a session of the DOI Research and Development Council to brief and obtain information from key DOI partners.The SST thanks the many participants inside and outside the USGS for putting their time and energy into aiding in the development of this report.As they reviewed this enormous amount of material, the SST looked for topics or directions that were innovative and transformational, served key clients and customers, had long-term national significance, allowed for expanded partnership opportunities, were integrative, and had an obvious USGS role.Ultimately, the choice of strategic science directions from within this framework was guided by the view that complexities of measuring, mapping, understanding, modeling, and predicting the status and trends of natural and managed resources in the United States transcend the traditional USGS structure and require broad vi

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