Meeting Summary
October 23/24, 2003

• Agreement was reached to formalize to the extent of creating a critical mass to develop the territory's cyberinfrastructure.

• Mission statement, goals and objectives/strategies, were drafted
   
  Mission Statement
  
  The Northern Tier Networking Collaborative seeks to develop and sustain advanced networking capabilities in order to support the educational, research and economic vitality of the Northern Tier region.  NTNC is formed as a sustaining collaboration to facilitate its membersí efforts to develop regional cyberinfrastructure, by:
  1. Facilitating next generation networking in the Northern Tier to ensure that educational and research institutions in the Northern Tier are fully prepared to engage in national opportunities, and that the region can continue to successfully compete
  2. Supporting and further catalyzing state networks in their efforts to upgrade to next generation capabilities
  3. Developing and sustaining relationships with regional, national, and international networking organizations.
  4. Leveraging intellectual, political and financial resources across the region to create greater purchasing power and attract federal interest
  5. Taking advantage of international efforts to develop national and regional advanced networking capabilities.

  Actions under each goal:

  • Facilitate creation of a next generation network in the Northern Tier to ensure that educational and research institutions in the Northern Tier are prepared to fully engage in national opportunities and can continue to compete with other regions
    1. Ensure every Internet2 member in Northern Tier has the ability to establish a multi-Lambda connection to a national or international aggregation point.
    2. Explore the option of building a mid-region locus of optical networking in Northern Tier (e.g. Mpls)
    3. Explore possibility of redundant loops
  • Create a sustaining collaboration (an organization? Designation of an existing networking organization?) that can maintain a focus on advanced networking and the development of regional cyberinfrastructure. Ray, I moved this whole thing up to the mission statement part because it didn't seem like an end in itself
    1. Define association with Internet2
    2. Identify areas of mutual interest
    3. Develop measurable goals
    4. Develop MOU
  • Support and further catalyze state networks in their efforts to upgrade to next gen capabilities
    1. Develop coordinated communication and marketing plan 
    2. Integrate Northern Tier goals into state and local network goals
  • Develop relationships with regional, national and international network organizations.  
    1. Work within Pacific NorthWest gigapop and CIC for appropriate NLR relationship.
    2. Investigate using regional touch points for advanced networking
  • Leverage intellectual, political and financial resources across the region to create greater purchasing power and attract federal interest
    1. Help expand relationships with state and national leaders
    2. Facilitate collaboration of grants
  • Take advantage of international efforts to develop national and regional advanced networking capabilities.
    1. Leverage Internet2 international relationships
    2. Seek out communication and collaboration with Canadian networks

An Executive Committee was created with each NTNC state having a member.  Initial States and their respective member to this committee are:

• Wisconsin, Annie Stunden
• Minnesota, Steve Cawley
• North Dakota, Bonnie Neas
• South Dakota, Warren Wilson
• Montana, Ray Ford
• Idaho, TBD
• Washington, Jacqueline Brown

Membership will be self-selecting with members agreeing to the MOU that will be developed by the Executive Committee by December 1.

The Executive Committee selected Annie Stunden, chair; Bonnie Neas, co-chair; Ray Ford, Secretary.

Membership will include a $1,000 membership fee to defray start-up costs.

Membership will be self-selecting but is expected to include Research and Education institutions and network entities that support them.

Universities in Iowa would be invited to join.

he Internet2 offer to "incubate" NTNC for one year was unanimously supported by all in attendance.  The details of the offer will be worked out between I2 and the NTNC Executive Committee. Annie and Bonnie will develop the official response.

I2 offered to host the NTNC mailing lists and a NTNC web site. We have acquired the domain of NTNC.org.   We‚ll get you all information when our new domain is active.

On behalf of all NTNC supporters, a big "thank you" to David Lois for his leadership of the Technical Working Group  TWG.  This group has made a lot of progress on the engineering side of what NTNC could become. More information can be found on the web site.