How Monitoring Networks are Managed

As EC's monitoring programs have matured and as a more integrated approach to management of networks has evolved, individual program management has given way to carefully coordinated, cooperative sharing of critical resources including data bases, laboratories, monitoring sites and data analysis tools.

For example, over the past ten years, the NAPS and CAPMoN management teams have worked cooperatively to adopt common methods and standards wherever possible and to participate in each other's planning and management meetings. This has provided increased statistical strength in the subsequent data analyses, enhancing the scientific return on investment and shortening the time required to deliver results.

EC's air quality networks generally provide national standards that are followed by provincial/territorial government's in the operation of their complementary networks. The provinces/territories benefit from federal expertise and national analyses are strengthened by using data points from additional monitoring sites.

Although the scientific objectives for these networks are different, this does not prevent synergies from being realized. Wherever possible, within the criteria for each network, monitoring sites and operators are shared. Supporting data collected for one program are used for others, and Quality Control/Quality Assurance protocols developed for one program are generalized and applied to others, saving significantly on development costs.