A Strategic Plan for the Great Lakes Commission

Information Integration and Reporting
Our goal: The Commission researches, collects, organizes and makes accessible data and information about the Great Lakes that is relevant to our Members, individually and collectively, and to others in the Great Lakes region. Decisionmakers rely on data maintained by the Commission to support planning, resource management and other activities.

Objective #1 of 5
Promote adoption of uniform data collection and information management standards and protocols for use by our Members and the region as a whole.

• Facilitate regional collaborative programs such as the Great Lakes Air Deposition and Great Lakes Water Use Database projects that create objective input for decisionmaking by the states and provinces.
• Promote the inclusion of metadata with all Great Lakes datasets.
• Conduct outreach to promote awareness of data standards and information collection protocols.

Objective #2 of 5
Facilitate interagency information integration programs across the region.

• Support periodic forums, such as the Regional Data Exchange Conference, that coordinate observing and monitoring activities.
• Work with Members and partners to address institutional barriers to efficient exchange of regional data and information, such as coordinating formal data exchange agreements and identifying state information integration priorities.

Objective #3 of 5
Consolidate information to support research, management and policy development interests of Members and Observers.

• Assess the needs of Members and Observers, on an annual basis, for aggregated data within priority issue areas.
• Work collaboratively with state, provincial and regional agencies to develop and maintain high quality data and information tools for issues of interest to Members and the region as a whole.
• Develop and maintain a Great Lakes regional GIS to consolidate and serve geographic data to Members and the public.

Objective #4 of 5
Serve as a clearinghouse of information about the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and Great Lakes programs.

• Publish datasets and information products on GLIN.
• Publish an online catalog of data, reports and other informational products relevant to the Commission’s mission.

Objective #5 of 5
Provide analysis and reporting on the conditions and trends of ecological and economic factors affecting the Great Lakes, where such information is not otherwise available and is needed to serve the interests of Members.

• Provide data analysis and reporting support to panels and workgroups involving state and provincial agencies, Observers and others, to facilitate regional decisionmaking on critical issues.
• Support collection and assessment of data to measure progress toward ecosystem restoration goals, such as the use of key Great Lakes environmental indicators to assess progress toward goals of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy to Restore and Protect the Great Lakes.
• Develop staff expertise to provide economic benefit-cost analyses to support policy and management decisions on aquatic invasive species and other issues.