DRAFT,  v2.5 38 4.2 User groups Preliminary work by the E&E working group has made it clear that there are at least three classes    of users: those who are accustomed to working with data streams and who are typically data   product providers, such as the weather service, fisheries managers, and commercial shipping; more  casual users of coastal ocean information, who typically are consumers of tailored data products   that do not assume a high level of familiarity with oceanography or the coastal ocean; and the   formal education community. We refer to the former as super-users, to distinguish them from   other user groups, because they often have a voracious appetite for data and are savvy enough to  utilize essentially raw observations and/or model output in the immediate future for   practical applications. It is vital to engage a broad range of user groups as quickly as possible to ensure that SECOORA  and its RCOOS have a vocal constituency willing to advocate for its funding.  Confronted with   how to begin this process, we have decided that our best chance of quick engagement is through  super-users.  The super-users require minimal ongoing support, can utilize aggregated information  products for the region in their most basic form, and have established user groups they   already serve.      4.3 Link to national backbone and other RCOOS As the IOOS is initially implemented, it is vital that its essential components, the national   backbone and the RCOOSs, develop and maintain a high level of interoperability.  For data and  information flow, sets of standards must be established that enable data sharing among all  components, and a common set of tools and applications will be needed to enable seamless data  discovery, archiving, and transfer.  This work has begun with the OceanUS DMAC plan and must  continue.  SECOORA and SEACOOS must make sure they are active participants in this process. There must also be coordination on governance issues.  Many federal agencies, regional councils,  private industries and user groups have boundaries that do not align with those of the nascent  regional associations.  Our approach to these entities should promote ease of interaction.  For     some groups, affiliation with the National Federation of Regional Associations (NFRA) will be the  most sensible form of coordination.  How these organizational issues should be resolved is not  obvious at present but they are essential to address in the near-term.