International Activities Office

Linking research to the world

What does the International Activities Office do for the nation?

NOAA Research, also known as the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), cooperates with more than 65 countries around the world to carry out research of the atmosphere, climate and oceans. Access to overseas monitoring sites, research platforms, facilities, data, information, technology, and expertise are essential to better understand the earth's complex processes. Establishing international partnerships and cost-sharing opportunities for large scale research programs are crucial to produce state-of-the-science assessments of earth systems, develop new predictive tools and capabilities, and assist 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 between the research community and the policy and administrative community, both internationally and domestically. By working closely with NOAA, universities, U.S. and foreign counterpart organizations, IA serves the needs of its laboratories and programs, as well as the national/international needs for sound scientific information for its policy and decision-makers. IA's accomplishes its work through four operational functions:

Advise NOAA and its research leadership on international research programs and issues in support of U.S. foreign policy and organizational objectives;

Support and represent NOAA Research interests and programs, and serve its laboratories on international administrative and operational needs;

Promote strategic alliances by exploring new opportunities for partnerships with national and international organizations that benefit NOAA Research programs in climate, atmospheric, and marine research; and

Lead U.S. oceanic, marine science, and technology partnerships by administering bilateral agreements with China, Japan, and France.

Recent Accomplishments:

In FY03 leveraged and/or secured $862,000 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 Asian Brown Cloud (ABC), 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 Ocean. Payoff: Established crucial cost-sharing partnerships in ocean observations with Asia 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, information 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.

What's next for International Activities?

Develop an International Technical Assistance Program (ITAP) to link NOAA Research products, services, and technical expertise with international funding organizations.
Implement the US-Russia World Ocean and Polar Studies agreement to gain U.S. access to Russian research platforms, sites, and expertise to advance arctic and ocean research objectives.
Support THORPEX program internationally to help facilitate extended weather forecasting services overseas.
Increase support and services to NOAA Research leadership, and its laboratories and programs, by expanding IA staff and fiscal resources. This will increase IA's ability to secure external funding for priority research programs, develop new international opportunities for collaboration and partnerships to support critical research needs, and help close existing scientific knowledge gaps.
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 to carry out its international programs and service functions. It has outstanding working relations with Asian countries, and works with 24 other countries around the world to carry out organizational program interests in atmospheric, climate, and marine research.

Budget and Staff

In FY03, IA's budget was $497,700. IA has 5 federal employees, 1 vacancy, 2 contractors, and 1 visiting foreign official.