OCIO Divisions and Offices
The Office of the Chief Information Officer and High Performance Computing and Communications implements the provisions of the Clinger-Cohen, Federal Information Security Management, E-Government, Paperwork Reduction, and Information Quality Acts, to acquire, manage, and deliver NOAA's information technology (IT) services.
Cyber Security Division
Mission: The Division manages NOAA's IT Security program, including the development of policy and the planning and oversight of all IT security, to ensure the integrity, confidentiality and availability of NOAA data and information.
The Director of the Cyber Security Division serves as the NOAA IT Security Officer. The Division is responsible for overseeing the accreditation of NOAA's IT systems, including development of computer security plans, risk assessments, development and testing of contingency/disaster recovery plans, and system certification. The Division develops requirements, criteria, and content for IT security awareness and technical training for all NOAA employees and for contractors and their employees. The Division manages the NOAA Computer Incident Response Team, which implements both proactive and reactive measures to protect NOAA IT resources against malicious incidents and to assure the overall soundness of NOAA's IT security posture. The Division also manages the NOAA Security Operations Center, which provides continuous enterprise monitoring and situational awareness supporting all of NOAA.
Enterprise Architecture Office
The NOAA EA office translates business requirements into cost-effective solutions that advance NOAA’s business strategy and vision for a modern IT infrastructure. The ultimate goal is to maximize collaboration across NOAA through shared, enterprise-wide IT solutions, enabling the reuse of existing IT assets wherever possible, and moving NOAA towards a standards-based IT environment. Primary activities include documenting enterprise-wide performance, business, application (service), data and infrastructure requirements of each mission goal, capturing the interrelationships amongst these requirements, and using this information to drive NOAA’s IT Capital planning and portfolio management processes to deliver results.
Governance and Portfolio Division
Mission: The Governance and Portfolio Division (GPD):
- Manages the development and review of policies, plans, and procedures for management and use of IT resources;
- Administers NOAA's multi-year strategic information resources planning process, including developing and administering the NOAA Strategic IT Plan, NOAA Operational IT Plan, NOAA IT Implementation Plan, and OCIO Annual Operating Plan;
- Manages the capital planning and investment control process within NOAA and coordinates the selection, control, and evaluation reviews of IT initiatives and other proposals;
- Manages the agenda, minutes, and action items of the NOAA CIO Council; and
- Oversees and coordinates activities regarding the E-Government Act, Paperwork Reduction Act, Federal Information Quality Act, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the accessibility provisions of the Rehabilitation Act.
Performance Goals:
- The NOAA Capital Planning and Investment Control program goal is to achieve top-ratings and efficiency on all NOAA major investments through modernizing IT Infrastructure, maintaining IT Security, utilizing corporate portfolio analysis, and adhering to the Clinger-Cohen Act.
- The Governance and Portfolio Division conducts TechStats reviews of NOAA IT investments to focus corrective actions on investments in trouble, prepare investment managers to present before the Commerce IT Review Board (CITRB), and enforce the IT contracting strategy on NOAA by imposing strict IT Investment Authority (ITIA) regulations on all NOAA Investments.
High Performance Computing & Communications Office (HPCC)
Mission: The High Performance Computing and Communications Office (HPCC) is responsible for NOAA-level management, coordination, and integration of NOAA's Information Technology Research and Development and the High Performance Computing and Communications Program and other assigned programs that are interagency and/or international in scope. The Office develops, implements, and evaluates the NOAA HPCC Program and Information Technology Research Program. It provides support to NOAA's senior managers as they oversee implementation of individual program elements and projects of the NOAA HPCC Program. The Office coordinates NOAA-level program planning and budget formulation and oversees NOAA-wide Program execution. It provides NOAA's focus for coordinating with external organizations and programs impacting the HPCC Program, including the Committee on Technology of the National Science and Technology Council, and its Interagency Working Group on Information Technology Research and Development (IT R&D), which coordinates the Federal IT R&D program and the Federal HPCC Program.
Homeland Security Program Office
Mission: The NOAA Homeland Security Program Office (HSPO) coordinates all plans, programs and policies regarding homeland security.
HSPO coordinates NOAA's response at a National level through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Infrastructure Coordination Center (NICC), the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC), and Department of Homeland Security's National Operations Center (NOC), including staffing the DOC/NOAA Desk at DHS NOC. The Office conducts continuity of operations and evacuation planning; ensures continued delivery of services; and works with corporate services to guarantee the safety and security of NOAA's people and facilities. HSPO is also responsible for the operation of an Incident Coordination Center that acts as a command center for incidents.
NOAALink Program Office
Mission: The NOAALINK Program Office manages the execution of the NOAALink strategic sourcing program by providing a framework for improving acquisition of IT throughout NOAA. Through the efforts of the Program Office and NOAALink, IT organizations at NOAA and the broader Department of Commerce community will be enabled to partner with industry to acquire a broad range of cost-effective, enterprise-wide IT solutions.
The Program Office works with the NOAALink Executive Steering Committee and management team to affect performance and change management, decision support and enterprise architecture.
- The Program Office performs advanced enterprise consolidation analysis to ensure that NOAA's enterprise initiatives can be realized through NOAALink.
- The Program Office establishes guidelines, processes and procedures for individual project managers in Line and Staff offices to properly baseline, plan and control projects through the use of appropriate tools and templates and effective acquisition planning through NOAALink.
Radio Frequency Management Division
The Radio Frequency Management Division is responsible for ensuring the availability and usability of RF spectrum to radio users in the Department of Commerce (DOC). Additional information can be found in the Department Administrative Order 201-39. This work involves:
- Obtaining authorization to use new and existing radio systems, and ensuring that such systems meet relevant federal standards
- Prevention and resolution of interference involving DOC and other systems through coordination with other agencies and the private sector
- Participation in DOC Continuity Of Operations (COOP) plans to ensure survivability of frequency management within DOC
- Negotiation with other government agencies, the private sector, and foreign and international entities on behalf of Commerce and/or the U.S.A. to ensure the future availability of spectrum and the absence of interference
Resource Management Division
Mission: The Resource Management Division manages financial, personnel and administrative activities for the OCIO. The division director serves as both the OCIO Financial and Administrative Officer.
The Resource Management Division is responsible for providing advice, support and guidance in the following areas: administrative management; budget execution; financial management, planning and reporting; procurement management; organizational and employee development; human resource management and human capital planning; property management; and inter- and intra-agency agreements.The Division represents the Office of the CIO on the CFO Council and the Human Resource, Business Rules, Finance, Personal Property and Reimbursable Committees. The Office coordinates NOAA's efforts to recruit, retain and develop a world-class IT workforce.
Service Delivery Division
Mission: The Division coordinates information technology (IT) activities, including planning and reporting, 
for NOAA's Corporate Offices. The Division operates NOAA's administrative computing center and provides IT oversight, systems analysis, design, and programming support for NOAA's financial and administrative applications.
The Division is customer focused—identifying, prioritizing and documenting requirements to establish service-level agreements that incorporate new technology and best practices to gain efficiencies.
- The Division solicits and measures customer feedback, sets clear customer service standards, improves the customer experience by using proven best practices and coordinating across service channels, and streamlines processes to reduce costs and accelerate delivery.
- The Division ensures a focus on transformation of the delivery of services and drives efforts to meet program management, contract management, and data center consolidation goals.
- The Division is responsible for integrating processes and effective configuration change management and ensuring the adoption of and adherence to Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) practices for service support, delivery and infrastructure management.