# NOAA SAB Soc Sci Review 

**March 11-12 Seattle**

**Findings and Recommendations:**

A set of preliminary findings and recommendations will be presented to
the NOAA Science Advisory Board (SAB) on March 19. The purpose of the
presentation is to provide the SAB with a general understanding of the
findings and recommendations with enough clarity that they can endorse
moving them up the chain of command. The underlying rationale and
discussion of each finding will be in the final report.

Findings are grouped in eight categories plus two "cornerstone"
findings. We will select the most important findings to highlight in the
oral presentation, but will present all preliminary findings in a
hard-copy handout that will also include the panel charge, meeting
schedule, and information sources. Some findings that are still being
checked for documentation are not included here.

Cornerstone Findings:

Finding: NOAAs capacity to meet its mandates and mission is diminished
by the under-representation and under-utilization of social science.

Finding: Two types of social science research are critical to the
accomplishment of NOAAs mission

1.  mission driven research

2.  institutional/ organization research

Recommendation: To be successful at implementing the recommendations of
this report, NOAA will have to reprioritize the position of social
sciences in budget allocations

Recommendation: NOAA should develop a strategy to satisfy the budget
implications of the report's recommendations. In the short-term this
will require the line offices to reprogram FTEs and resources to
accomplish the social science related to their missions.

# 

# 1. Organizational Culture

**Finding**: The culture and organizational structure of NOAA is not
conducive to social science research.

-   Throughout NOAA, there is a general lack of understanding of what
    social science is and what it can do.

**Recommendation:** The literacy and competency of NOAA leadership in
social science should be improved. NOAAs Assistant Administrators and
senior management should initiate this process by conducting a retreat
to review the scope of social science and to address the potential
contribution of social science to agency missions.

**Recommendation**: NOAA leadership should establish goals and
objectives for achieving social science literacy within the agency.

**Recommendation:** NOAA should develop a social science literacy
project including curriculum training and workshops to address the
general lack of social science literacy among the work force.

**2. Social Science Capacity:**

**Finding**: NOAA's social science research capacity is insufficient to
meet the mission of each of the line offices.

-   Small numbers and isolation of social scientists lead to
    fragmentation and prevent achieving critical mass

-   The social science expertise within NOAA is not sufficient to
    influence the long-term research agenda.

-   The impact of social science is diluted by the fact that staff are
    often hired, mentored, supervised and promoted by non-social
    scientists.

**Recommendation:** Headquarters and each line office should evaluate
the adequacy of its social science staffing relative to its mission and
overall organizational needs.

**Recommendation:** Headquarters and each line office should develop a
plan to build core social science capacity that includes an
implementation strategy.

**Recommendation**: Headquarters and each line office should investigate
opportunities for improving communication and networking among its
social scientists within and across line offices.

# 

3\. Senior Representation

Finding: No line office has a senior-level line officer with the
explicit responsibility for developing and overseeing social science
research.

Recommendation: NOAA should create a chief social scientist position in
each line office with the explicit responsibility for developing and
overseeing social science research.

4\. Education/Outreach

Finding: NOAA Assistant Administrators recognize the need to better
define and understand their constituents and communicate with them

-   The lack of expertise in social science limits NOAA's ability to
    understand and communicate with constituents

Recommendation: NOAA should explore the usefulness of constituent
surveys. To this end, it should organize a small survey research unit
composed of social scientists trained in survey methodology. The unit
would design, process and administer constituent surveys.

Finding: Social science programs are not coordinated across the line
offices of NOAA. Further, there are no incentives to create social
science collaborations and synergies across programs and line offices.

Recommendation: The NOAA Administrator should create incentives and
processes to promote collaboration across line offices and programs.

# 5. Strategic Planning

# Finding: There is almost no long-term strategic planning for social science at NOAA. 

# 

# NOAA does not appear to have a process for planning how to build and fund a social science research program 

# Few line offices have a specific social science research plan. 

Recommendation: The chief social scientist in each line office and the
directorate should be responsible for overseeing, planning and
representing social science in each line office.

**Recommendation**: Each line office should initiate the development of
a social science research plan by conducting a retreat to discuss how
social science should support their missions based on the kinds of
research questions identified in section 7.

Recommendation: Each line office should develop a social science
research plan and ensure that it is integrated into the forthcoming
revision of the NOAA strategic plan through social science goals, plans
and outcomes.

6\. Performance Evaluation

Finding: There is very little use of social science to project the
outcomes of NOAA programs or to evaluate their effectiveness.

Finding: NOAA typically measures program outputs rather than program
outcomes, leading to an imbalanced evaluation of its performance.

Recommendation: Use social scientists to lead the development of
criteria or indicators of success in evaluating outcome effectiveness.

7\. DATA

# Finding: The lack of appropriate data limits the contribution of social science to NOAA.

# 

# There is little investment in ongoing collection and management of social science time series data. 

# Few social science data are catalogued and archived in digital and retrievable form 

Recommendation: Each line office should include as part of its social
science research plan a strategy to gather and fund missing time series
data.

Recommendation: The Administrator should direct all line offices to
prepare written plans describing social science data currently
maintained and steps that will be taken to archive those data in
retrievable form.

8\. Funding

Finding: NOAAs current investment in social science is inadequate.

-   Line office budgets for social science personnel, research, and
    education are not comparable to the social science budgets at other
    agencies with similar responsibilities.

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-   In areas where there is discretion over the use of research funds,
    social science is not a priority.

-   With few exceptions, programmatic opportunities to target social
    science research are not pursued within NOAA.

**Recommendation:** NOAA should review funding opportunities for
directed social science research within discretionary spending areas
such as targeted national Sea Grant calls.

**Recommendation:** NOAA line offices should not wait for new
appropriations to fund social science but should earmark existing
resources for social science research related to their missions.

Note: Mark Holliday will revise the wording of the funding
recommendation listed below.

**Recommendation:** NOAAs FY04 budget should include a multiyear social
science research initiative that in its first year would fund a core of
senior social scientists to assist each line office in the development
of their social science research plans, and to fully implement social
science research plans where they exist.