Enabling Open Development Methodologies in Climate Change Assessment Modeling

Computational simulation models help support scientifically grounded "what if" analyses by translating specialized knowledge into tools that can project the likely future impact of current actions. Models have thus become important in a variety of policy domains. In recent years, several software platforms for environmental policy-making and urban planning have added simulation models to decision support tools to provide stakeholders with direct access to these models. In this paper, we discuss the development of a publicly accessible Web service called ROMA (Radically Open Modeling Architecture) that allows anyone to create, combine, and run modular simulations, which can aid climate policy deliberations. ROMA currently provides the modeling functionality in the Climate CoLab (http:// climatecolab.org), a collective intelligence application in which large numbers of people work together to develop proposals to address climate change. In time, we hope that ROMA will support a community focused on model development and analysis.