Welcome to NOAA's Scientific Integrity Commons - a place for NOAA's scientific community to find training opportunities, engage with peers, and to have open discussions with managers and leadership on the many topics and issues related to scientific integrity.
"(a) Public service is a public trust. Each employee has a responsibility to the United States Government and its citizens to place loyalty to the Constitution, laws and ethical principles above private gain. To ensure that every citizen can have complete confidence in the integrity of the Federal Government, each employee shall respect and adhere to the principles of ethical conduct set forth in this section, as well as the implementing standards contained in this part and in supplemental agency regulations..”Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, Title 5, CFR 2635.101
The Policy
Scientific integrity is essential to elevating science to its rightful place in informing government decisions, and more fundamentally, scientific integrity is essential for democracy. The Obama Administration has shown its commitment to scientific integrity by issuing clear principles in the President’s March 9, 2009 memorandum. We have been operating by those principles as we worked with the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and our sister agencies on developing guidelines and standards for implementing those principles. On December 17, 2010, Dr. John Holdren, the President’s Science Advisor and Director of the OSTP, issued a memo (pdf) laying out that additional guidance.
This additional guidance was timely as it meshed with our work to develop a NOAA scientific integrity policy as a benchmark for strengthening science within NOAA as prescribed in Dr. Lubchenco’s Annual Guidance Memorandum. This new draft NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) is founded upon our existing policies within NOAA and the Department of Commerce, but updates and extends them substantially based on the guidance from President Obama and Dr. Holdren.
NOAA Administrative Order on Scientific Integrity
Procedural Handbook for Scientific Integrity NAO
Disposition of Public Comments
Scientific Integrity Annual Report
Explore the Commons
"Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.”Albert Einstein
For More Information or to Comment
For more information, please contact the Research Council Executive Secretariat at integrity.noaa@noaa.gov.