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, super intelligence and machine learning (SI/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.
Read the full workshop report here.
