SWPC Policy for Improving Customer Service by Fostering a Vendor Industry

Excellent customer service provided by industry enhances all space weather services and benefits the customer. Essentially, SWPC would like for vendors to provide tailored customer services, while SWPC focuses on improving generic, environmental nowcasting and forecasting services. Vendor-provided tailored services are vital to improving service, as SWPC finds less and less time to meet individual user needs.

SWPC Strategic Activities

Synthesizes the Space Environment - describe the space environment based on all the information we have; give a comprehensive picture of the environment (more than just data).
Forecasts Space Weather - "nowcast" the space environment and forecast space weather in that environment.
Provides Services to the Public -provide information for free to the general public, the media, schools, and space weather users, as part of SWPC's governmental responsibility.
Conducts Basic Research - improve services by better understanding the environment. Our research program is vital to that effort.
Conducts Applied Research - conduct applied research into space weather problems, and transition such research into operations.
Fosters a Vendor Industry - Partner with private industry so as to help our users and the public.
Provides Support for Government Agencies - continue to support other government agencies with space weather information.

Expectations for Working with Vendors

S Vendors are expected to create products tailored to specific end users; SWPC will not compete with vendors in the area of tailored products.

S SWPC's duty is to describe the environment, but SWPC can't model the environment at all cadences and all resolutions; SWPC will select some standard format and leave others, creating an opportunity for vendors. How SWPC defines its duty to describe the environment must, because of sheer volume of work, be limited and prioritized based on SWPC's estimation of the importance to users.

S SWPC will release all public data and model outputs which SWPC uses and for which there is a user need. However, SWPC must be assured that it can change and improve each model so as to give the best results at all times. Except with prior agreement, SWPC will not re-distribute vendor-owned product information.

S SWPC must have control of any model used to prepare SWPC-issued operational products, so that value-added products based on that model would bear some liability protection. Control of the model also means that SWPC can choose to not issue a product if the quality is poor.

Manner of Working with Vendors (Partnerships)

SWPC may form partnerships with vendors to help develop new products that we do not plan to create. These could be tailored products (effects) or environmental products (descriptive parameter values).

Neither SWPC nor vendor partners will exchange money, and the investment of resources is expected to be small.

SWPC may develop test products, do some product testing, and then allow them to be taken over by vendors.

A vendor may wish to distribute an SWPC-developed or a similar product; if the product is not a critical part of SWPC's governmental responsibility, SWPC will cease issuance of its no-cost-to-users product.

What SWPC Contributes and Gains from such Partnerships

SWPC will contribute scientific and user expertise to any product development, giving assurance that the jointly developed products are firmly based on the best possible science.

SWPC will provide reliable data access for its partner. It might, in return, receive some reimbursement for the data service or the staff support.

SWPC will contribute effort in model development, but also gain by collaboration in those efforts.

SWPC might be able to contribute previously developed verification and validation software for use with new products.

Most importantly, SWPC will help to develop, and gain a partner in providing, needed customer services.

What a Vendor Contributes and Gains from this Partnership

The vendor will provide expertise in translating environmental conditions into particular effects, while getting assistance in developing products.

The vendor will contribute effort in model development, but also gain collaboration in those efforts.

The vendor will bring his knowledge of an end user need to bear on the development. He will gain a partnering relationship with SWPC, and ensure absence of competition from SWPC for users.

The vendor will receive excellent access to SWPC's databases, particularly during development, and a head start on further product development.

The vendor will bring marketing skills and a commitment to providing the service, while at the same time receiving the benefit of validation of SWPC information and some liability protection.

One Type of Partnership-the CRADA

The CRADA will be announced in Commerce Business Daily (CBD) as an unspecific and open ended solicitation for partners to improve services to users. The solicitation will be good for up to one year, so that proposals can be accommodated when they are ready.

SWPC will select among respondents, but no more than one proposal per area will be accepted, thus avoiding competitive working conditions. The criteria for selection will be along the lines of:

SWPC's evaluation of the product's usefulness, quality, and benefit to the nation.
The lack of conflict with anything SWPC is doing or the high level of synergy with SWPC's areas of research and services interests. Both conditions would be of interest to SWPC.
SWPC's available resources.
Likelihood of developing a successful (and marketable) product.

SWPC will accept as many vendor proposals as it can afford. It will not accept two partners competing for the same market sector.

The partners will complete CRADA work as rapidly as possible, and will free up SWPC resources when done. As partnerships succeed and SWPC resources become available, additional vendor partners will be chosen. From time to time, SWPC will re-issue the CBD solicitation and build a new list of accepted proposals.

Definitions

A "Vendor" is any group or individual who provides space weather services to users. Direct Remuneration may or may not be collected.

A "Tailored Product" is space weather information that relates to specific hardware, environmental parameters, or local weather that is not routinely forecast or nowcast by SWPC.

An "Environmental Product" describes an environmental parameter, either observed or extrapolated/interpolated from a model.

A "Value Added Product" is a product that may derive from SWPC products but has some other information or added benefit.