Ninety-five percent of U.S. foreign trade enters and leaves the country by ship. NOS plays a vital role in vessel safety by producing the nation’s nautical charts, locating hazards to navigation, and predicting the rise and fall of tides and speed of tidal currents. (Photo credit: Airphoto, Pueblo, CO)

The Management and Budget Office (MBO) of NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS) is the focal point for all planning, management, budget, internal and external communication, and education activities at NOS Headquarters. In this role, MBO supports the NOS Assistant Administrator and nine program offices and staff offices. The Office also provides expertise, products, and services that help NOS accomplish its mission to maintain safe and healthy coastal ecosystems and to provide for safe marine navigation for the nation. The office director serves as the Associate Assistant Administrator for Management and NOS Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer.

The Office is responsible for day-to-day administrative operations of NOS; establishing policies and procedures; and providing advice, support, and guidance to NOS Headquarters, program, and staff offices and field installations. It advises the NOS Assistant Administrator and Senior Management Council on NOS-wide operational goals and objectives, and is responsible for ensuring effective decisionmaking within NOS. The Office coordinates all NOS strategic planning, legislative, and policy development efforts, ensuring participation of internal and external stakeholders, and manages all phases of the budget process, including funding allocations to program offices.

NOS is the U.S. government’s principal advocate for coastal and ocean stewardship. It works to achieve a balance between development and preservation.

The Office develops policy; provides advice, support, and guidance to all NOS components; and disseminates policies and regulations to program and staff offices on a wide array of administrative management activities. These include operations, budget, facility management, safety, security, environmental compliance, procurement and grants management, strategic planning, organizational development, human resources management, employee development, workforce planning, financial management, Freedom of Information Act requests, Inspector General and General Accounting Office audits, memoranda of understanding, and interagency agreements.

MBO is responsible for developing an NOS-wide education program and managing all internal and external communications and outreach activities. This includes developing and maintaining the NOS Web site, serving as consultant to other NOS and NOAA offices to develop and maintain Web sites, and working with NOS constituent groups such as port, shipping, and coastal recreation interests.

MBO offers planning, data synthesis and assessment, and advanced technical services (e.g., geographic information system and Web mapping, database development, and information visualization tools) to NOS and NOAA program and staff offices. These services promote integration of program capabilities across NOS and NOAA to ensure more effective and efficient delivery of products and services to the coastal community. The Office works to build capacity within NOS and NOAA by collaborating with internal partners to define problems and issues, identify information needs, assemble and synthesize relevant data, develop strategies, evaluate options, and develop products and results that contribute and support better coastal resource management decision-making.