Ocean Enterprise Study

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the Ocean Enterprise?

  The ‘Ocean Enterprise’; defined as for profit and not for profit businesses which support ocean measurement, observation and forecasting. The objective of its publication is to raise visibility and awareness of this important industry cluster, and understanding of its linkages with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) program.

  The Ocean Enterprise is termed as an analog to the “Weather Enterprise,” a term that has been in use for over a decade and helps highlight the contributions of groups providing information, services, and infrastructure in the areas of weather, water, and climate. Here we have defined the scope narrowly to include only those private sector elements because we believe it is a significant enterprise, both publicly and privately, but overall have very little information about private sector contributions and partnerships overall.

• Why did you do this study?

  The ocean enterprise is an important source of domestic revenue, but for various reasons has never truly been assessed on its own. The US IOOS program wanted to analyze the size and scope of this growing industry to help both the public and private sector engage more meaningfully, appropriately, and profitably with ocean enterprise, and by doing so spur U.S. domestic [and global] economic growth in this rich market and provide better answers to societal issues such as safety of life and property, agricultural productivity, and ecosystem services.

• Who did this study and how was the study run?

  In FY2014, this study was funded by the U.S. IOOS program which is within the NOAA’s National Ocean Service. IOOS contracted with ERISS Corporation and The Maritime Alliance to execute the study designed to describe the general size and characteristics of the private and nonprofit businesses functioning as providers or intermediaries in the Ocean Enterprise.

  Starting in 2013, the project team developed a definition of the Ocean Enterprise for the purposes of this study and then generated lists of likely companies within scope of the Ocean Enterprise. Through 2014, the team developed a web based survey, received OMB Paperwork Reduction Act clearance, and gathered a large list of possible companies (view the list here). From there, they began researching and drilling down to a master list of companies doing business within the scope of this study. Nine companies were initially approached to provide qualitative information to refine the web survey instrument. The survey questions were released on the web and to identified companies via email in April 2015. The survey period closed on June 30, 2015 and the analysis and writing work began with close collaboration from all sponsors. The report was finalized and released to the public in February 2016.

• What was your methodology?

  This study includes for profit and not for profit businesses who are either providers or intermediaries within the Ocean Enterprise. The added revenue from end-users and impact value within end-user applications was not assessed. Once companies were identified, they were asked survey questions (Appendix B of the study) which included questions about revenue and job numbers.

• How does this benefit private companies–do they have any incentive to contribute or help this study thrive?

  This study benefits private companies by bringing their business into the spotlight. In the UK, where a similar study is conducted annually, the sentiment is overwhelmingly positive as the study helps bring attention and interest to these firms and the products and services they offer. Toward the end of the study period, when asked by the project lead what benefit the study might provide to the companies who participate in the study, one large U.S. company CEO answered “we think it is great. Any attention on this sector is a good thing from our perspective because it highlights our business.” Another benefit of the study is that better information about this sector of the economy will increase partnering opportunities among the companies in this sector.

• I don’t live on a coast. Is this relevant to my community?

  Yes–see the map (ES-2; Fig. 9) . We identified companies involved in the ocean enterprise sector all over the US, including non-coastal states. Tech development and developing products from data are coast agnostic–these study results are relevant everywhere.

• How does this compare with the findings of other studies?

  The only other directly comparable study is an annual survey of providers and intermediaries undertaken in the UK. This study is based on the survey of companies attending relevant trade exhibitions. Within the U.S., there have been geographic cluster studies, but nothing on the national level.

• What does an annual revenue of $7 billion (USD) really mean– can you put that in context for me?

  * $7B is .04% of the 2014 US GDP of $17,419B (Source)

  * $7B is about the same size as the GDP of the Bahamas (Source); Togo (Source: International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 18 April 2013), or Barbados (Source: International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 18 April 2013)

  * The NFL made $7.24 billion in revenues in Fiscal Year 2015 (Source: Fox Sports, ESPN, others)

  * $7.5 billion American greeting card industry (Source: Small Business Development Center)

• Are you going to repeat this study in the future? My company is a provider/intermediary, and I’d like to be contacted to participate.

  You can check the list of companies who were invited to participate in this study at this link.  If you don’t see your company listed, please drop us a line and let us know.  While we don’t know right now when this study will be repeated, we hope to in the future and we’d be happy to include you, so please send us an email at oceanstudy@noaa.gov!