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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 although the government may have to provide them if commercial value-added products are not suitable for public purposes. The decision on public versus private funding should not be an ideological one. Rather, the choice of whether to acquire data or value-added products to meet government missions and mandates by direct funding or to purchase them through private-sector initiative must be based on sound analysis of the value of the information to the public good, likely market forces, revenues, and costs. The government should not expect the commercial market to supply data or value-added products on a full and open basis. Thus, commercial data or information products meant specifically to meet public-sector needs should be purchased and wholly owned by the government and placed in the public domain. A PROCESS FOR NEGOTIATING AMONG STAKEHOLDERS The objectives of the information system broadly constrain the roles of the five stakeholder groups. However, there is currently no recognized process for the stakeholders or their representatives to negotiate solutions that optimize common interests and minimize conflicts. Such a process is particularly important for information systems created with a mixture of public and private objectives because virtually every aspect of the system is negotiable. Issues must be resolved at the policy level (e.g., public funding of the trunk) and in the implementation details (e.g., the priorities for core products). Solutions will depend on the particular circumstances of the information system at hand. Thus, policy makers cannot expect to write a general rule that will settle conflicts for all stakeholders in all situations. Yet, finding common ground is imperative if the nation is to benefit from using environmental resources in a sustainable fashion and humankind is to face the challenges associated with their impact on the environment. Recommendation. U.S. federal agencies with responsibility for multi- purpose environmental information systems should establish a clear, visible process by which representatives of all the stakeholder groups discuss the performance and negotiate the redesign of such systems with the goal of reconciling their interests.
