International Activities Office

Linking Research to the World

What does the NOAA Research International Activities Office do for the nation?

NOAA Research, also known as the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), cooperates with more than sixty-five countries around the world to carry out research on the atmosphere, climate and oceans. This access to international monitoring sites, observations, research platforms, facilities, data, information, technology, and expertise is essential for better understanding the earth’s complex processes. Furthermore, establishing international partnerships and cost-sharing opportunities for large scale research programs is crucial to producing state-of-the-art assessments of earth systems, developing new predictive tools and capabilities, and assisting policy-makers and resource managers in their decisions.

Located in the Office of the Assistant Administrator for NOAA Research, the International Activities Office (IA) plays a major role in facilitating international collaboration and provides a bridge, both domestically and internationally, between the research community and the policy and administrative community. By working closely with NOAA, universities, and U.S. and foreign counterpart organizations, IA serves the domestic and international needs of laboratories, programs, and policy and decision makers for sound scientific information. IA accomplishes its work through four operational functions:

Advises NOAA and its research leadership on international research programs and issues in support of U.S. foreign policy and organizational objectives;
Supports and represents NOAA Research interests and programs by serving its laboratories on international administrative and operational needs;
Promotes strategic partnerships with national and international organizations that benefit NOAA Research programs in climate, atmospheric, and oceanographic research; and
Leads U.S. oceanic, marine science, and technology partnerships by administering bilateral agreements with China, Japan, and France.

Recent Accomplishments

In FY 2004, IA leveraged and/or secured $954,000 of external funding for six NOAA Research programs. Payoff: Established new donor partnerships to advance NOAA Research programs, without taxing organizational fiscal resources.
Gained first-time U.S. and NOAA Research access to Chinese atmospheric monitoring sites by initiating, negotiating and executing the enactment of a Letter of Intent with the Chinese Academy of Science. Payoff: Enhanced NOAA Research’s ability to assess and monitor aerosols and the atmospheric brown cloud, gained U.S. access to Chinese historical data sets, and filled in observational and monitoring gaps for NOAA Research interests.
Secured political and scientific support from China, Japan, and Korea, which resulted in $2.9M (to-date) towards the international Argo program in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Payoff: Established crucial cost-sharing partnerships with Asia in ocean observation to expand global coverage of in-situ ocean profiles.
Established new cooperative partnerships for NOAA Research with more than 15 countries in Europe, South America, and Asia. Payoff: Expanded access to platforms, data, and expertise overseas, and established new cooperative relations and cost-sharing opportunities to carry out NOAA Research science programs.
Expanded NOAA’s global carbon cycle monitoring network in ten countries by channeling routine operational shipments through diplomatic channels. Payoff: Expanded NOAA’s monitoring network and generated an operational cost-savings of 25% on average.
Partnered with NOAA Headquarters and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to include Sea Grant International in the U.S. Ocean Action Plan. Payoff: By supporting NOAA’s key priorities, the International Activities Office helped raise the visibility of NOAA leadership and programs to a national level.
Implemented the FY 2004 IA Annual Operating Plan and exceeded year-end deliverables by 10%. Payoff: Enhanced IA office efficiency and effectiveness in providing improved products and services to advance NOAA’s research and administrative goals.

What's next for International Activities?

Implement the U.S.-Russia Joint Committee for World Oceans and Polar Regions to gain U.S. access to Russian research platforms, sites, and expertise to advance arctic and ocean research objectives in support of International Polar Year.
Revitalize the U.S.-France Program in Oceanography to expand partnerships on Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management, coastal modeling, the Global Ocean Observing System in support of the international Global Earth Observation System of Systems network, and ocean exploration.
Expand new partnerships with Asia to secure ship-time for U.S. ocean observation deployments in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Engage in new opportunities to partner with other NOAA line offices on international programs and projects of mutual interest, to strengthen corporate and organizational crosscut dynamics.

Research Partnerships

IA works closely with all parts of NOAA, eight U.S. agencies, and dozens of universities in implementing its international programs and goals. Furthermore, the IA office has outstanding working relations with Asian countries and works with 24 other countries around the world to fulfill organizational program interests in atmospheric, climate, and oceanic research.

Budget and Staff

The fiscal year 2006 enacted budget for the IA $0.6M. IA has 6 permanent federal employees.