An Outline for the Proposed National Strategic Computing Reserve

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, computing and data analytics have played a key role in responding to the health emergency. Specifically, High Performance Computing (HPC), modeling and simulation have been pivotal in the federal government’s response to the pandemic.

The HPC Consortium, in particular, demonstrated the benefits of mass collaboration to deliver scientific innovation in an accelerated manner. The Consortium brought together federal agencies, industry and academic leaders, to work together on 43 high-priority COVID-19 research projects leveraging over 600 petaflops of computing power.    

Given the success of the HPC Consortium and the realization that computing and data analytics will play an increasing role in future national emergencies, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a Request for Information (RFI) in January 2021 requesting input on approaches to establish a National Strategic Computing Reserve (NSCR). The proposed NSCR would bring together volunteer subject-matter experts and computing resource providers to make advanced computing capabilities available to respond to crises. Likened to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet and the United States Merchant Marine, NSCR resources may be called upon in times of national need.

Last week, the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) issued a blueprint on OSTP’s proposed NSCR based on comments from the RFI and drawing from lessons learned by the HPC Consortium.  

The blueprint provides a clear vision for the NSCR, “The NSCR is envisioned as a coalition of experts and resource providers (of compute, software, data, and technical expertise) spanning government, academia, nonprofits/foundations, and industry supported by appropriate coordination structures and mechanisms that can be mobilized quickly to provide critical computing capabilities and services in times of urgent need.”

The blueprint also lays out the principal functions of the NSCR:

• Establish policies, processes and procedures to activate and operate the NSCR in times of need
• Recruit and retain advanced computing and data resource and service provider members from government, industry and academia
• Develop agreements with members for urgent deployment of computing, resources and services, and provide incentives for non-emergency participation
• Develop methods and tools to secure critical proprietary data sets when needed
• Develop agreements to enable NSCR, federal agency and industry collaboration
• Execute preparedness exercises at recurring frequencies to test and maintain the NSCR
• During a crisis,
  • Execute procedures to receive project proposals and prioritize projects to provide computing resources to approved projects
  • Track project and product progress to ensure effective impact
  • Participate in the broader national response
• Following a crisis, 
  • Manage return to normal operations
  • Implement post-crisis changes and lessons learned

NITRD’s release also describes NSCR’s initial implementation activities and cost estimates, many of which will require contractor support to help establish and maintain the initiative. 

As a next step, an interagency group will be convened to provide insight on NSCR’s proposed structural and operational components, explore NSCR’s specific role in emergency scenarios, and establish relationships with other entities that coordinate and respond to emergencies.

For further insight into advanced computing’s impact in the federal marketplace and additional analysis on the pandemic’s role in evolving federal big data activities, refer to Deltek’s upcoming Federal Big Data Market, 2021-2023  report, anticipated for publish at the end of October.