NOAA RELEASES REVISED FIVE-YEAR RESEARCH PLAN FOR PUBLIC REVIEW

The roadmap for NOAA’s short-term research efforts is available for public comment. The NOAA Five-Year Research Plan provides specific research milestones to be achieved during fiscal years 2007-2011.

This is the second edition of the plan, which was initially released in 2005 and then revised based on comments from a variety of constituents, including university partners and the general public. Events, such as Hurricane Katrina and the release of international scientific reports on climate change, also caused some changes in the focus of the plan.

“We took a broader look at the research questions that affect all of NOAA, such as hazard resiliency, economic competitiveness and providing accurate assessments to policy makers,” said Richard W. Spinrad, NOAA assistant administrator for oceanic and atmospheric research. “With this revised plan, we hope to ensure that all of our research is linked to meeting essential societal needs. But we rely on our partners to let us know if we meet those needs.”

Spinrad noted that the revised plan also introduces a more rigorous approach that includes measurable goals and monitoring research performance across NOAA.

“This is a plan for action with specific milestones and objectives that will allow us to provide the nation with the information it must have to make the best decisions possible to meet the social, economic, and environmental needs of a dynamic and productive society,” he said.

The Five-Year Plan organizes scientific activities around NOAA’s four mission goals and a mission support goal focusing on ecosystems, climate, weather and water, commerce and transportation, and technology and mission support.

The Plan is available for review and comment until July 18 at: http://www.nrc.noaa.gov/plans.html

While the Five-Year Plan deals with short time frames, it complements NOAA’s 20-Year Research Vision, which establishes broader long-term goals and activities.

“There are some very big questions out there that NOAA is well-positioned to help answer,” Spinrad said. “Both of these plans will help guide our research directions to be of the best use to society.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.