Beyond Being There WorkshopBeyond Being There WorkshopBBTW_315fdde3-c74b-49b6-b3a2-99c123a85e74_d9106752-a712-11e7-8431-fca799054364To provide a blueprint for advancing the design, development, and evaluation of virtual organizations_99d762d9-439a-4197-87df-ff533e7af06bCross-Disciplinary StudiesEncourage cross-disciplinary studies involving both technologists and social scientists working with domain-centered VOs._e3d0a81f-6043-472c-95b1-842ca636b9981To enable such studies, support a matchmaking process so that participants from multiple domains can more easily find collaborative partners. Additionally, NSF could usefully create a clearinghouse for information about existing technologies to prevent the needless duplication that can result from the lack of technological experience and awareness on new projects. Furthermore, require participants in such studies to feed lessons learned back into the project so that the VO benefits._d910684c-a712-11e7-8431-fca799054364Research and Practice FrameworkCombine knowledge from multiple studies to put forward a framework that can inform further VO research and practice. _5a8d4691-ab6c-4daa-b1a1-28b33783e88f2Facets of the framework might include the following: what constitutes a VO,where VOs come from, how VOs are governed and structured, how VOs operate, how technology supports operation, how needs (social and technological) shift over time, and how VOs grow most effectively._d91068e2-a712-11e7-8431-fca799054364Feature ChecklistDevelop a checklist of necessary VOs features—technological, social, organizational, and so on—to ensure that new VOs start off on the right track._9f8f205f-7767-4caa-85bf-150e30c053fe3VOs need to be designed deliberately from the beginning. To fully understand the system of virtualization, all inputs need to be quantified. Research supported by NSF should result in models and research systems that represent a basic level of effectiveness for distributed collaboration._d91069e6-a712-11e7-8431-fca799054364Instrumentation, Metrics, and EvaluationDesign instrumentation, metrics, and evaluation as part of a VO from the beginning rather than adding measurements systems postmortem._6bb35631-a2cb-4f22-b76e-2a0e4da01c134Doing so should motivate the inclusion of social scientists in these projects. It would also increase the return on money invested in VO projects, producing both domain-centered and VO-centered research outcomes._d9106a72-a712-11e7-8431-fca799054364Human CapitalSupport human capital development around VOs. _cc9bf859-2ae3-4437-a307-902e6389a4905To build a pipeline of qualified experts who understand and can support VOs requires education initiatives such as workshops, summer institutes,and even computational science concentrations at colleges and universities. Such efforts would build more of an institution and a professional community around VOs. (Consider, for example, the OGF [http://www.gridforum.org/], which sponsors education events, distributes publications and presentations online, and supports shared-interest communities as part of their mission of “providing an open forum for grid innovation and developing open standards for grid software interoperability.”)_d9106afe-a712-11e7-8431-fca799054364Standardization and CommoditizationInvestigate whether technological and organizational factors that support effective virtualization can be standardized or provided as commoditized infrastructure. _1b8f34cf-3fe8-4ba6-a265-5b1965a7f66a6Commoditized, on-demand computational and storage systems may offer more practical and economical solutions for certain types of VO._d9106b8a-a712-11e7-8431-fca799054364Community ServicesOffer awards for supporting community services at all levels, including the development of new scientific applications, operation of technology infrastructures, and ongoing maintenance of these services._90f54e60-765c-4513-8fa6-24849d5e4d967Such funding would make VOs more viable for the long term._d9106c20-a712-11e7-8431-fca799054364Incentives and RewardsIdentify incentives and offer rewards for metacontributors to VOs—that is, the people who build or reorganize features to make it easier for others._07fd1376-7514-4802-855d-ecae071c3f768Because there is currently no scientific merit system for rewarding those who build a VO—despite the effort that it takes—there is a chicken-and-egg problem of how to entice people to join a VO if they think it will not be productive._d9106cac-a712-11e7-8431-fca799054364Tools and ProtocolsSupport the development of hardened common tools and protocols for sharing knowledge and data._e8f79c5e-4030-456f-a466-102099e862089These development projects need to involve both technology experts and social scientists or human-computer interaction specialists because technological and organizational issues are inseparable and effective solutions must integrate them both._d9106d42-a712-11e7-8431-fca799054364VO InfrastructuresCreate proposal funding models that support the use and reuse of VO infrastructures. _e7a9efaf-5709-419a-ba37-5c598e2a70ce10This type of funding would offer a mechanism and incentive for developing features that certain infrastructurepackages do not have._d9106de2-a712-11e7-8431-fca799054364University InvestmentsEncourage universities to support VOs with substantial, complementary investments._b2836b23-60e7-4a76-816f-ed10f5afcb5d11NSF is not mandated nor adequately funded to support all the VOs they help to initiate on a permanent basis. University support would help build localized, stable communities of computational science expertise._d9106e78-a712-11e7-8431-fca799054364Cross-Directorate FundingEstablish cross-directorate funding opportunities that could more appropriately evaluate and support projects that unite social scientists, computer scientists, and domain scientists. _58688e5a-9c22-4849-a033-be2232fc4ca612As most funding currently stands, awards are typically siloed within a single directorate. This makes it more difficult for VO participants to apply in unfamiliar domains because panel members are not accustomed to evaluating the merits of proposal content outside their area of expertise._d9106f22-a712-11e7-8431-fca7990543642008-06-122010-02-08http://web.ci.uchicago.edu/events/VirtOrg2008/VO_report.pdfArthurColman (www.drybridge.com)colman@drybridge.com