Data Exchange Methodology Workgroup

– NOTE: Workgroups 3 and 4 will be transitioning over to an Integrated Project Team (IPT) format within the EPA Exchange Network governance structure in early 2014. The agenda and minutes will be published under the ‘Governance’ main menu. Many thanks to our Workgroup membership for their efforts on this project.

This workgroup will research the existing field of data exchange methodologies. They will evaluate existing state, federal, and academic data exchange collaborations and make recommendations as to which approach should be taken.

The workgroup should start from the assumption that the data exchange will use eXtensible Markup Language (XML) based web services that are defined by an XML Schema (as defined by the data exchange template workgroup). However, there are numerous approaches and technologies that can be used for this type of data exchange. One such state/federal approach that the workgroup will consider is the Exchange Network (www.exchangenetwork.net). The Exchange Network is a state/tribal/federal collaboration for exchanging information via defined web services. Methodologies under the Exchange Network have already been well defined. Another approach that bears evaluating is the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences Inc. (CUAHSI) (www.cuahsi.org). This is an academic led approach that has significant potential for defining how ‘time-series’ data can be shared. Other state specific examples exist that also should be evaluated.

Outputs

  • Data Exchange Issues & Recommendations: The workgroup will recommend an approach that meets the needs of the states and supports the needs of the WaDE project.
  • WaDE Flow Configuration Document v0.2 (Draft Only): This document describes the exchange methods and components that a state would need to implement in order to have compatible services and data as part of the data exchange, as well as describes how a user of the data could consume those data services.

Meetings

The next meeting of this workgroup is scheduled for May 2013 as a combined meeting with Workgroup 3.

Past Meetings

WG4 – November 9, 2011 – Minutes

WG4 – January 23, 2012 – Minutes

WG4 – January 22, 2012 – Minutes

WG4 – March 9, 2012 – Minutes

WG3/4 – May 11, 2012 – Minutes

WG3/4- June 21, 2012 – Minutes

WG3/4 – August 9, 2012 – Minutes

WG3/4 – March 20, 2013 – Minutes

WG3/4 – July 11, 2013 – Minutes

WG3/4 – Oct 8, 2013 – Minutes