At the 2026 IOOS Modeling Community of Practice Workshop, there was a strong consensus that formalizing the IOOS Modeling Community of Practice (CoP) was the next step towards advancing community priorities and working towards shared goals. Central to this CoP is its role in facilitating two-way communication between NOS and the broader modeling community through the U.S. IOOS Office and the Regional Associations (RAs), to drive research-to-operations and operations-to-research across the community. The CoP consists of a strategic planning team and priority-focused working groups, and will host engagement opportunities through virtual community events, workshops, and leveraging existing meetings and conferences for community focused gatherings. The CoP will coordinate closely with other NOAA CoPs, including the Coastal Inundation CoP, Coastal Coupling CoP, and Marsh Modeling CoP. 

The IOOS Modeling CoP provides the foundation for a collaborative, action-oriented modeling community that leverages collective expertise, capabilities, and assets across the IOOS modeling ecosystem to advance coastal and ocean modeling. By strengthening collaboration across the community, the CoP will ensure operational needs are communicated to inform research and that research advances translate into operational capabilities. Sustained engagement across stakeholders and partners will ensure meaningful outcomes and enable the community to evolve with changing user needs, emerging scientific priorities, and technological innovations. 

 

 

Community Resources: 

 

For more information, or to join the CoP, please contact:

breanna.vanderplow@noaa.gov

 

 

2026 IOOS Modeling Community of Practice Workshop

The 2026 IOOS Modeling Community of Practice Workshop, sponsored by the Coastal States Organization (CSO), convened the coastal and ocean modeling community to assess current capabilities, strengthen partnerships, and identify practical pathways to advance modeling capabilities. A pre-workshop webinar was held ahead of the event to set the stage and introduce the workshop discussion topics (Please see the recording, slides, and webinar summary). 

Across three days, participants enthusiastically discussed current activities, challenges, and actionable next steps in the following areas: operational model modernization, Research-to-Operations-to-Research (R2O2R) pathways, stakeholder engagement, cloud and data infrastructure, integrated modeling, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), data assimilation, and workforce development.

A consistent message emerged: progress depends on treating the modeling enterprise as a connected community rather than a set of isolated programs. Partners across NOAA/NOS, IOOS RAs, academia, industry, other federal and local government agencies, and non-profits must work closely to share knowledge and lessons learned, and work together towards shared goals. Model developers, IT professionals, engagement specialists, and end users each bring distinct expertise that must be incorporated into the entire modeling value chain in order to create accurate, timely, accessible, and useful model products and tools. The strongest pathways combine these roles through sustained collaboration, shared infrastructure, transparent planning and communication, and continuous feedback between all stakeholders. Explore the full workshop agenda for details on session topics, featured speakers, and presentation materials.

 

Read the full workshop report here.

 

Participants of the 2026 IOOS Modeling Community of Practice Workshop at the Reservoir Center in Washington, DC.