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14.5 Domain-Specific Strengths and Gaps in FEW
Systems Data
Every place and time in the world has a unique FEW system, and the data needs and
accessibility are every bit as diverse as the systems they represent. In the developing
world, formal FEW systems data may not be available from governments and companies and may need to be collected as needed directly at the source. In authoritarian countries, FEW systems data may not be accessible because it is classified as a
state secret. In liberal countries, some FEW systems data is readily available from
government statistical bureaus in the aggregate, but detailed data about establishments and individuals may be fiercely protected by privacy law and critical infrastructure security restrictions. In all cases, there are critical gaps in FEW systems
data coverage. Often these are due to privacy and security concerns, but sometimes
these are due to the difficulty or expense of collecting or modeling a domain of data,
or due to a lack of capacity on the part of the government.
Major application domains for FEW system data include census, infrastructure
management, business supply chain intelligence, product tracking, life cycle analysis and footprinting, last mile and emergency management, input-output, stock and
storage management, trade, commodity flow, thresholds regulations and carrying
capacities, waste management, vulnerability, products, and customer level data
tracking.
It is impossible to survey all the available datasets or gaps in data for FEW systems. However, the reader is directed to the FEWSION project for a USA oriented
list of relevant datasets, and to the National Science Foundation’s INFEWS program
funded projects list for an overview of projects that are aiming to address specific
high priority gaps. Below we list some particularly notable data assets and gaps in
US FEW systems data.
14.5.1 Strengths
• Global model estimates (e.g., GCAM, climate models)
• Global remote sensing of agricultural yield and land use
• Global scale estimates of groundwater depletion (e.g., GRACE)
• Meso-scale data, for example, at the county scale
• Annual and Decadal data in general
• Global scale input–output and life cycle models
• Freight flow data for voluminous and massive commodities at the meso-scale
• Selected strategic reserve storage (e.g., petroleum reserves, cold storage of food)
• Things we can see from space, like nighttime lights for energy use, or land use
for agricultural production
• Large urban and industrial water users and wastewater dischargers, at the
meso-scale
B. L. Ruddell
14.5 Domain-Specific Strengths and Gaps in FEW
Systems Data
Every place and time in the world has a unique FEW system, and the data needs and
accessibility are every bit as diverse as the systems they represent. In the developing
world, formal FEW systems data may not be available from governments and companies and may need to be collected as needed directly at the source. In authoritarian countries, FEW systems data may not be accessible because it is classified as a
state secret. In liberal countries, some FEW systems data is readily available from
government statistical bureaus in the aggregate, but detailed data about establishments and individuals may be fiercely protected by privacy law and critical infrastructure security restrictions. In all cases, there are critical gaps in FEW systems
data coverage. Often these are due to privacy and security concerns, but sometimes
these are due to the difficulty or expense of collecting or modeling a domain of data,
or due to a lack of capacity on the part of the government.
Major application domains for FEW system data include census, infrastructure
management, business supply chain intelligence, product tracking, life cycle analysis and footprinting, last mile and emergency management, input-output, stock and
storage management, trade, commodity flow, thresholds regulations and carrying
capacities, waste management, vulnerability, products, and customer level data
tracking.
It is impossible to survey all the available datasets or gaps in data for FEW systems. However, the reader is directed to the FEWSION project for a USA oriented
list of relevant datasets, and to the National Science Foundation’s INFEWS program
funded projects list for an overview of projects that are aiming to address specific
high priority gaps. Below we list some particularly notable data assets and gaps in
US FEW systems data.
14.5.1 Strengths
• Global model estimates (e.g., GCAM, climate models)
• Global remote sensing of agricultural yield and land use
• Global scale estimates of groundwater depletion (e.g., GRACE)
• Meso-scale data, for example, at the county scale
• Annual and Decadal data in general
• Global scale input–output and life cycle models
• Freight flow data for voluminous and massive commodities at the meso-scale
• Selected strategic reserve storage (e.g., petroleum reserves, cold storage of food)
• Things we can see from space, like nighttime lights for energy use, or land use
for agricultural production
• Large urban and industrial water users and wastewater dischargers, at the
meso-scale
B. L. Ruddell