[1] The NextGen portfolio includes large-scale investments, research, and operational changes that will profoundly impact the capabilities of the nation’s air transportation system.
With this in mind, and given the broad impact of these changes, the concept of a joint office, one that can manage the development of the NextGen architecture and integrated work plan, has become especially important.
It covers a time span of nearly two decades and calls for a unique level of integration in the planning and budgeting of critical investments in the national transportation system.
This approach is representative of a new paradigm in the way government pursues large-scale transformational initiatives, particularly those that encompass a broad range of mission areas, agencies, and the private sector.
NextGen involves a wide range of carefully timed and integrated activities, and while having significant benefits in the near- and mid-terms, it is also heavily focused on the long-term development of America’s aviation infrastructure.
Further, NextGen, through improved operations, new aircraft designs, and more efficient routes, will be able to recognize significant benefits in terms of reduced environmental impact.
The JPDO’s role in this change environment is to develop the multi-agency planning and implementation structure to make NextGen a reality.
In addition, it provides data from which analysis and modeling can be performed to assess options for determining the best business case for each set of investments and solutions.
The IWP, driven by the ConOps and the Enterprise Architecture, along with the collaborative involvement of each government partner and with significant private sector input, lays out each of the operational improvements and enablers necessary to make NextGen a reality, across bands of functional/operational segments.
The IWP outlines the work of each partner agency, the timing for these efforts, the key research, policy, and implementation objectives, and defines how they fit together.
The JPE, through a series of over 40 different reports, allows users to study the NextGen planning tools in terms of linkages, respective departmental and agency responsibilities, and timelines.
The JPDO is focused on establishing a new level of collaboration with other government departments and agencies, but it also has a mission to develop a strong relationship with the private sector.
Over the longer term, gains provided by satellite-based navigation systems will offer more efficient routes that reduce the amount of time aircraft spend in flight.
The JPDO, working closely with its government partners, has identified several valuable opportunities to leverage technology, expertise, and ongoing research to foster collaboration on key NextGen issues.
Some ongoing examples of this work include: One of the most critical challenges to NextGen is to develop a net-centric capability for the national airspace system that will provide advanced exchange of operational data.
The Department of Defense has a long-standing commitment to net-centric technology, and now through the JPDO is developing the initial operating concept and key references for advanced network connectivity to support NextGen.
Rather than relying on coordination or cooperation on a situation-by-situation basis, the JPDO has brought together all of the government partners to work collaboratively in planning, designing, and implementing the NextGen initiative.
One of the challenges in this undertaking has been in maintaining the “honest broker” status that is critical to this change-oriented approach to managing a large-scale initiative.