Scale and Sustain Working Group

Charter: Scale and Sustain the Wildfire Science & Technology Commons

Background:
The Wildfire Science & Technology Commons (WSTC) believes that avoiding devastating wildfires requires urgent, innovative, and collaborative solutions. The Wildfire Science & Technology Commons is a bold new initiative designed to accelerate technological innovations for wildfire management and mitigation. We are building a community platform around open data, cutting-edge science, AI, and shared knowledge.

Our mission is to bring people together to break down the barriers that currently exist between wildfire-related data, models, and tools. Today these resources are siloed, which slows down innovation. We have the opportunity to create a seamless, smart platform to enable solutions that revolutionize how we understand, respond to, and prevent wildfires.

Purpose:
The Scale and Sustain Working Group will:

1. Identify ways in which the Wildfire Science & Technology Commons can scale its partnerships to include new collaborations with existing communities and networks

2. Assess opportunities and innovations for additional growth for Wildfire Commons platform expansion

3. Explore innovations that can sustain the Wildfire Science & Technology Commons to ensure ongoing use and impact within the community and beyond

Scope:
The Scale and Sustain Working Group will focus on:

1. Identifying Innovation Needs: Determine what key innovations are necessary to advance fire science and management, with an emphasis on open data, emerging technologies, and collaborative models.

2. Tracking Innovation Implementation: Examine whether these identified innovations have been implemented and evaluate their effectiveness. If implementation has not occurred, investigate the obstacles (e.g., resource limitations, policy barriers, technological gaps).

3. Ensuring Sustainability: Develop strategies for ensuring that successfully implemented innovations are sustained over time. This includes exploring funding models, partnerships, ongoing community engagement, and integration into standard fire management practices.

Process:

1. Committee Formation: A Badge Working Group will be formed upon review of nominations, with the goal of 10-15 group members.

2. Coordination: The group will have a Chairperson responsible for setting the agenda and coordinating the monthly meetings. Additional subcommittees may be formed as needed to dive deeper into specific priority areas.

3. Meetings: The group will meet for one hour per month to review progress, discuss emerging issues, and plan next steps. Meetings will be held via teleconference to accommodate diverse geographic locations of members.

4. Engagement: The group will actively seek input from external stakeholders, including end-users, funding bodies, and policy-makers, to ensure that recommendations are practical and impactful.

5. Reporting: Progress reports will be produced semi-annually, outlining the state of innovations, their implementation, and recommendations for sustainability.

Outcomes:

• Sustained Impact: Strategies for ensuring that these innovations are not just adopted but also maintained and updated as needed over time for collective impact.

• Broader Adoption: Recommendations on how innovations can be integrated into local, regional, and national fire management policies and practices, ensuring their long-term viability.

Nominations accepted at: https://forms.gle/89XhjEKwzrSye8SG9
Submit your nominations by December 13, 2024