5 Year Strategic Plan
USA-National Phenology Network
Draft – March 6th, 2012
Meeting the Challenge
Phenology is the study of recurrent and seasonal events in the life cycle of organisms, for
example leafing and flowering in plants, and hibernation, migration and emergence in animals.
When plants and animals are active constrains what they can exploit and compete for resources
or interact to facilitate pollination, seed dispersal, and feeding. Seasonal timing in both weather
and biology also drive the cycling of water and nutrients, as well as land-atmosphere and
ocean-atmosphere interactions, at all scales. Variations and trends in seasonal timing are a
central measure of the effects of climatic variability and change on biotic populations,
communities and ecosystems.
Phenology also is a critical component of many aspects of human life, including health, food
production, and recreation. Recent trends in seasonal timing associated with a changing climate
have been linked to greater exposure to allergies, spread of invasive species and infectious
diseases, and increasing wildfires and insect outbreaks. The precise role of phenology as a
driver and mediator of these changes, however, is poorly documented and understood. A
national-scale effort focused on data collection and information sharing is needed to improve
our ability to forecast and predict phenological responses to climatic variability and change, and
their consequences in physical, biological and human systems.
Established to meet this need, the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN; Network) is a
consortium of individuals and organizations that collect, use, and share phenology-related data
and information. The Network serves science and society by promoting a broad understanding
of plant and animal phenology relative to environmental and climatic changes. A National
Coordinating Office (NCO) based at the University of Arizona provides communications,
information management and monitoring protocols to Network partners. An Advisory
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Committee (AC) provides guidance on the direction of the USA-NPN and represents key partner
interests.
USA-NPN Planning and Accountability Framework
At the highest level, our vision and mission statements guide the activities of USA-NPN. This 5Year Strategic Plan articulates a broad 50 year goal, and five year goals, expressed as outcome
statements (with associated measurable benchmarks), and identifies key objectives to be
accomplished within the 5-year time frame. Goals and objectives were set based on the
assumption of continued funding of one million dollars each year for the USA-NPN. The goal of
this document is to describe what we are aiming for, at the highest level, and can be used to
prioritize activities, assess progress, and improve accountability. In addition, we hope it can be
of use to potential partners in assessing organizational alignment, or partnership ‘fit’.
Information on how we will achieve our goals is organized from less to more detail as follows:
 An organization-level Logic Model summarizes how inputs (e.g., funding, volunteer
effort) contribute to activities, which result in outcomes aligned to 5 year goals.
 An Action Plan further details staff responsibilities and timeframes related to achieving
outcomes.
 Program plans (e.g., Education Plan and Communications Plan) guide development of
new programs and projects.
 Staff work statements provide detail on specific responsibilities and timeframes.
 Annual Reports and Data and Participant Summary reports provide information for
accountability and tracking our progress towards our goals.
 Budget projections, proposals and summaries shed light on how funding aligns to effort,
and where additional resources may be needed.
Vision
The USA National Phenology Network encourages people of all ages and backgrounds to
observe and record phenology as a way to discover and explore the nature and pace of our
dynamic world. The Network makes phenology data, models, and related information freely
available to empower scientists, resource managers, and the public in decision-making and
adapting to variable and changing climates and environments.
Mission
The USA National Phenology Network serves science and society by promoting broad
understanding of plant and animal phenology and its relationship with environmental change.
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The Network is a consortium of individuals and organizations that collect, share, and use
phenology data, models, and related information.
50 Year Strategic Goal for the USA-NPN
The USA-NPN is recognized nationally and internationally as an authoritative source of highquality phenology protocols, data, analyses, and information. The USA-NPN collects, curates,
and reports standardized data from hundreds of core species and from legacy and nonstandard observations. Data, analyses, and reports inform decisions related to environmental
change and they support an effective education and outreach program.
5 Year Goals
1. Develop and curate a multi-taxa, phenology data set to support science and management.
(Data)1
We will optimize our national, standardized phenology data set to ensure the Network can
address critical science and management challenges and produce high priority data products
now and in the future. In collaboration with our federal partners and other data end-users, we
will identify the science questions, applications and data products that will drive requirements
for data collection. Scenario planning may be a useful technique in optimizing the coverage of
the data set relative to the questions, given the uncertainty in the long-term societal needs for
USA-NPN products. We foresee working adaptively, and balancing the need for a stable species
list over many years with the flexibility needed to address new questions and incorporate new
information.
The cloned plants program is central to the USA-NPN effort and will continue to be a focus for
recruitment and retention of observers. Beyond cloned plants, we have chosen to limit our pool
of priority species to 366 plants and animals selected using documented criteria and a panel of
experts2 .
We will measure our progress toward this goal by tracking growth in the data set to meet
defined targets for coverage in terms of species, phenophases, frequency, duration, spatial
distribution and error rate (formulated as: By Fiscal Year 2016, data are available for X% of the
1
Goal nicknames, given in parentheses after each goal, are intended to facilitate referencing goals in discussion
and planning.
2
These 366 species include the calibration plant species, a suite of species selected early in USA-NPN’s
development based on range and ecologic or economic importance.
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366 priority species at a density of Y over the last Z years at once/week over the growing season
for W phenophases, at E error rate). We will also consider metrics for data use, including data
set citation in 30 peer-reviewed publications by the end of Fiscal Year 2016.
Objectives3

Articulate science questions and associated data needs for data set coverage.

Build observer capacity based on known priorities and develop and test methods for
recruitment, retention, training and tuning (i.e., focusing the efforts of) observers.
o Increase the number of active observers by 20% each year.
o Engage three partner groups in using educational resources each year.

Phenology data curated by USA-NPN are used in 6 peer reviewed science publications
each year.

Foster 3 collaborations with researchers for data use each year.
2. Phenology data provided by USA-NPN4 are used in 10 decision support systems (DSS)
The real-world value of phenology data is demonstrated through the improvement of on-theground decisions. Tools to facilitate decisions may include models, visualizations, data
summaries and syntheses. The USA-NPN may develop decision-support systems using
contemporary and legacy data as well as data collected using USA-NPN protocols but not stored
in-house.
Current and medium-term efforts towards this goal center on the incorporation of phenological
measures in current and future iterations of the National Climate Assessment (NCA). Led by the
U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), the National Climate Assessment presents
status and trends information on climate variation and its impact on people and ecosystems.
The inclusion of phenological measures as a key bioclimatic indicators of climate change
impacts is an exceptional opportunity for the USA-NPN to demonstrate its broad relevance to
society at the national level.
Objectives

Describe and present a suite of phenology-based bioclimatic metrics, called the
Extended Spring Indices (SI-x), as a single technical contribution for inclusion in the 2013
3
4
Objectives are near term (one to three year) measurable outcomes of our efforts aligned to each goal.
Includes data collected according to USA-NPN protocols.
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National Climate Assessment. Contribute conceptually to the adoption of phenology as
a cross-cutting indicator for the report.

Phenology data curated by USA-NPN are used in 1 management decision each year.
3. Establish a sustainable funding model for the next 30+ years and implement a five-year,
diversified funding plan that increases non-governmental funding to 10% and non-USGS
governmental funding to 60% by FY 2016. (Funding)
A diversified funding plan will provide for institutional sustainability by reducing reliance on
USGS. Funding will be sought for the National Coordinating Office as a service-provider, as well
for research and activities outside of the NCO that advance the interests and mission of the
Network.
Objectives

Secure near-term funds through grant-writing and continued cultivation of USGS,
USFWS, NPS, NOAA, USFS and BLM.

Explore options for private foundation support congruent with programmatic goals.

Develop a baseline and format for our 5-year diversified funding plan.
4. Develop and implement an operational structure for the full USA-NPN. (Structure)
Fully implement an operational structure for the USA-NPN to facilitate core activities and
attainment of objectives. The USA-NPN is currently a ‘coalition of the willing’, comprised of
formal and informal individual and institutional relationships. An Advisory Committee, a
National Coordinating Office, working groups and a variety of partner institutions are
recognized as constituent entities of the USA-NPN.
The Advisory Committee provides guidance for the direction of the USA-NPN, facilitates
communication with key partners and advances the interests of the broader Network. The
National Coordinating Office (NCO) is the USA-NPN’s operational center. The NCO coordinates
and communicates with participants and provides services (e.g., information management and
protocol development, education/training). The NCO currently includes employees from three
institutions (USGS, The Wildlife Society and the University of Arizona). Partners include
universities, parks, refuges, non-profits, individual researchers and educators, whose
participation is recognized at www.usanpn.org/partners. Further information on the roles and
activities of Network entities is available at www.usanpn.org/about.
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Several formal agreements, with annual budgets, legal obligations and time limits exist within
the Network. These include:

National Science Foundation - Research Coordination Network grant to the University of
Wisconsin - Milwaukee

US Geological Survey (USGS)
o Ecosystems Mission Area funds and manages Jake Weltzin as Executive Director
of the USA-NPN/NCO.
o Cooperative Agreement with the University of Arizona for the Establishment of
the USA-NPN/NCO.
o Agreement with The Wildlife Society for NCO Science Coordination/Wildlife
Program

Agreements with the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service for specific
projects and activities

A variety of funded proposals also support Network activities (e.g. NASA ROSES; see
budget summaries for more information)
The USA-NPN’s current structure is sufficient to deliver current services, sufficiently flexible to
meet changing needs and communicate across organizations. Avenues for a variety of activities
and diverse funding streams are available. The current structure has some weaknesses,
including a reliance on trust and working relationships (rather than formal governance and
supervision) between members of different organizations and a complex structure to
understand within and beyond Network entities. Currently, we see no urgency to restructure
the USA-NPN or find a new institutional home for all or some of the functions of the NCO. We
may revisit the issue of structure in light of this strategic plan, the results of research on private
fundraising capacity, and the long-term IT and data management and delivery needs of the
USA-NPN. If it becomes necessary or advantageous to modify the organizational structure, we
will allow sufficient lead time to for changes so there are no disruptions in services.
Objectives

Deliver revised bylaws, AC/NCO Roles, concept diagram, staffing plan and deliver DOI
Ethics compliance.
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