NSF NHERI Network Coordination: A Model for Distributed National Research Infrastructure
Published on February 6, 2026
Julio Ramirez, NHERI NCO principal investigator (Purdue University), and JoAnn Browning, NCO Education and Community Outreach lead (University of Texas San Antonio).
A recent study published in the International Journal of Business, Management, and Technology highlights the NSF Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) Network Coordination Office (NCO) as a compelling model for organizing a successful national research infrastructure.
In Indonesia, researchers are working with the federal government to establish a research infrastructure capable of fostering innovation and increasing national development potential. In a recent paper, authors affiliated with Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency and the University of Indonesia analyze the country’s effort to centralize management of national research infrastructure. They argue that Indonesia’s current top-down approach has introduced new challenges and explore alternative governance strategies that could improve effectiveness and accessibility.
As part of their analysis, the authors reference NHERI — a U.S. National Science Foundation–funded research network — as an illustrative example of effective research infrastructure design. NHERI demonstrates how a geographically distributed research infrastructure can be successfully coordinated through a dedicated network coordination office rather than a rigid centralized structure.
The NHERI Network Coordination Office serves as the hub of the network, playing a critical unifying role. By orchestrating governance across a distributed collection of experimental facilities, cyberinfrastructure, and research programs, the NCO ensures that NHERI functions as a cohesive system. As described by Blain et al. (2025), the NCO unifies and governs the network while preserving institutional autonomy and flexibility.
The authors emphasize that governance is often overlooked in high-level discussions of technical infrastructure. NHERI provides a concrete example of how a distributed network can operate effectively without imposing centralized control over physical assets. An agile coordination office can ensure that a research infrastructure is accessible, usable, and strategically integrated across institutional boundaries.
Three key takeaways from the paper include:
Centralized governance does not require centralized infrastructure
The NHERI NCO functions as a headquarters for managing operations across all components of a distributed national network. It oversees internal governance bodies—including councils, advisory committees, and working groups—facilitates network-wide decision-making related to facility access and transparency, and ensures representation and participation from all components.
A coordination office can unify dispersed research assets and stakeholders
The NCO manages NHERI’s education and workforce development programs for undergraduates, graduate students, and early-career faculty. These efforts broaden participation and build national capacity in natural hazards engineering.
Effective coordination improves access, transparency, and user experience
The NCO leads the development of network-wide science plans, ensuring alignment of research goals among facilities and stakeholders while improving the overall user experience.
It is gratifying to see members of the international research community identifying the NSF NHERI Network Coordination Office as a model for establishing successful, efficient national research infrastructures—and for enabling researchers worldwide to advance their nations’ technical development.
References
Sulistami, Y. N., Salama, U., Soehadi, G., & Hanny, M. (2025). Restructuring the National Research Infrastructure: The Indonesian Case. The International Journal of Business Management and Technology, 9(12). https://www.theijbmt.com/archive/0972/1778068584.pdf
Blain, C. A., Ramirez, J. A., Edge, B. L., Holmes, W., LaChance, M., Nelson, R., Robertson, I. N., & Zehner, D. (2025). Successful Coordination of the Distributed, Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI). Frontiers in Built Environment, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2025.1589067
NSF NHERI facilities are distributed across the United States and coordinated through a central Network Coordination Office.
Media Contact
Marti LaChance
Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure
Network Coordination Office, Purdue University
lachance@purdue.edu