Review of ARM Infrastructure Completed

 
Published: 31 July 2007

In May, the Department of Energy’s Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee (BERAC) published findings and recommendations from their assessment of the effectiveness of ARM Climate Research Facility as a national scientific user facility. Based on a review of total user requests, the BERAC concluded that ARM was being effectively used by the broader scientific community, not just the ARM Program. They also stated that cost cutting measures had achieved the desired efficiency goals, but further cuts could impair the Facility’s operations. The subcommittee reinforced the importance of the scientific impacts of this facility (including publications), and the value it has had for the international research community. The full report is available on the DOE website.

In February of this year, the ARM management team presented formal evidence to a BERAC subcommittee in three primary areas: (1) effectiveness as user facility; (2) cost effectiveness in several categories; and (3) implementation of recommendations from a prior review. In their report, the subcommittee recognized the ARM Mobile Facility as a key element of non-ARM user interest. They also gave high marks for meeting metrics for cost effectiveness and operational efficiency, noting the instrument uptime as impressive and valuable. They also commented positively on the significant progress made on suggestions for improvement from the BERAC review from 2005, noting improvements to the ARM website, data delivery, and program outreach. The ARM Infrastructure Management Board has prepared an action plan to respond to findings from this latest review and will work to implement the needed changes in a prioritized fashion.