OEP Executive Overview (Summary)
Since 2003, the multi-agency JPDO has been formulating how the U.S. air traffic system must transform to meet future demands. The NextGen Concept of Operations provides the guiding vision, and each agency must then choose the initiatives it will undertake to produce the outlined operational improvements. FAA in particular will have a lot of work to do, and the truth is, when we talk about implementation on such a large scale, 2025 is not that far away.
Ready to embrace this hard work, FAA has expanded the existing OEP to become its NextGen implementation plan. The OEP has a proven track record: By 2013 OEP will deliver on its original goal of adding 30 percent more effective capacity to the national airspace system. This is a truly significant accomplishment, and the entire agency has participated in producing it.
Now known as the Operational Evolution Partnership, the OEP broadens its scope beyond capacity to include all of FAA’s NextGen commitments. The OEP will integrate myriad FAA planning activities into one comprehensive, high-level document. The OEP will also drive business processes that define and manage FAA’s NextGen implementation schedule. The OEP is organized around three key transformation areas: air traffic operations, airport development, and aircraft and operator requirements. It focuses on the capabilities needed for the transformation, presenting a big picture view of the interdependencies of key enabling programs and technologies.
With a view out to 2025, the new OEP includes more information about long-range airport development planning, especially in emerging markets. It incorporates the avionics implementation plan that will help aircraft operators make informed equipage decisions.
In the past, OEP focused mainly on agency commitments, which are defined as initiatives with approved business cases and full funding. The new OEP will broaden significantly to include strategic research, development, and prototyping, along with specific policy and certification activities. The OEP will bring together the right people from FAA and JPDO to assess the benefits of potential initiatives, in terms of both functionality and cost-effectiveness. The OEP will manage technical integration, ensuring all new technologies are designed and perform as intended. In its role as management integrator, the OEP, over time, will establish a strategic timeline that shows exactly what steps are needed, how long each will take, and who will be responsible for each.
More than just a plan, the OEP provides a process through which FAA ensures implementation. The OEP is developed in collaboration with the aviation community, including the airlines, cargo carriers, general aviation, airports, manufacturers, and other government agencies. It is a promise to stakeholders, enabling them to plan their future operations with confidence that FAA will provide specific new capabilities by specific dates. The most senior executives in the agency are held personally accountable for meeting OEP commitments. Progress is reviewed in regular meetings of the OEP Associates Team, chaired by the Deputy Administrator, which keeps the “big picture” in view and helps FAA meet its promises.
