Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
On March 12, 2026, Internet2 submitted a response to the National Science Foundation (NSF) regarding its January 23, 2026, Dear Colleague Letter requesting feedback on plans to restructure infrastructure and operations at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). On behalf of our more than 300 university members, many of whom partner with NCAR on mission-critical research, our comments emphasized the importance of maintaining NCAR as a cohesive, unified entity to ensure the continued success of the atmospheric science community.
Key Takeaways
- Keep NCAR Intact: We urged the NSF to keep NCAR intact, as the research and education (R&E) community is best served by keeping this crucial part of the atmospheric research ecosystem unified.
- Shared Cyberinfrastructure is Vital: We recommended that NSF investigate opportunities to improve NCAR’s cyberinfrastructure capabilities to enable improved collaboration with its R&E partners.
Why This Matters to You
- The IT leadership community: We are advocating for enhanced technical integration between NCAR and campus infrastructure to simplify how your researchers access large-scale modeling and data tools.
- The research & science community: We are advocating for the preservation of NCAR’s cohesive organizational structure so that your cross-institutional collaborations remain uninterrupted.
- The public policy community: We are advocating for a stable, long-term investment model that prioritizes the R&E community’s voice in federal infrastructure transitions.
The Deep Dive
NCAR has played an important role in advancing atmospheric science for more than six decades and has supported the R&E community through shared observational platforms, modeling capabilities, and scientific collaboration. Internet2’s response emphasizes our support for NCAR’s continued success and our belief that the best outcomes, including for NCAR’s hundreds of collaborative partners in the R&E community, will result from NCAR remaining cohesive and whole.
Additionally, we highlighted the importance of shared cyberinfrastructure services to facilitate the work of the atmospheric science community. Federated identity services, high-capacity networking, and trusted infrastructure services are all needed to enable data movement, enhance collaboration, and accelerate time to science. We encouraged NSF to continue investing in NCAR’s cyberinfrastructure capabilities and to look for ways to enhance integration and collaboration with R&E partners.
Looking Ahead
In the time since we shared our response with NSF, a lawsuit has been filed in relation to this proceeding by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), which manages NCAR on behalf of NSF. UCAR alleges that NSF, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Commerce, the Office of Management and Budget, and their respective directors have violated the Constitution and relevant federal laws governing administrative procedure in their efforts to reshape and potentially privatize part of NCAR’s operations.
Internet2 will continue to engage with NSF on the importance of maintaining and improving crucial federal science resources and institutions that enable successful research collaboration across the United States for our members.
Advocacy in Action is a series of timely briefings from the Internet2 Government Relations team that break down federal policy developments, agency actions, and legislative advocacy to explain what’s happening in D.C. and why it matters for the future of the research and education community.
Have questions? Contact us to connect with:
- Belinda Nixon, Vice President and General Counsel, for high-level regulatory, legal, and compliance strategy
- Matt Hall, Principal Policy Advisor & Analyst, for federal agency engagement, community policy initiatives, and Internet2’s broader federal engagement strategy
- Sam Burns, Senior Policy Advisor, for congressional activity and the federal budget and appropriations process
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