# Presentation: 683965

## One NOAA:A Sustainable Collaboration

- Scott Rayder
- NOAA Chief of Staff
- May 9, 2006

## NOAA’s Vision Updated Plans

- NOAA’s Vision: An informed society that uses a comprehensive understanding of the role of the oceans, coasts and atmosphere in the global ecosystem to make the best social and economic decisions

- NOAA’s 5-Year Strategic Plan	NOAA’s 5-Year Research Plan
- NOAA’s 20-Year Research Vision

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**
NOAA’s Vision is supported by its Research and Strategic Plans.

The 5-year Research and Strategic Plans are issued periodically and focus NOAA’s work on how to best support NOAA’s mission.  These Plans help to create a link between budget and performance as well as to develop and guide NOAA’s programs.  

Additionally, PPI issues an Annual Guidance Memorandum that is specifically linked to each new PPBES cycle.  This allows NOAA programs to revisit the 5-year plans and update or change them according to new developments and events both within and outside NOAA in order to develop programs and allocate resources that will best support NOAA’s strategic goals. 

Seeing as research is at the heart of turning NOAA’s vision into a reality, the 20-year Research Plan helps NOAA to develop a research program that will be useful and beneficial to the public, the decision makers, and the resource mangers of the future. 

## Creating “One NOAA” Matrix Management

- Remove the Stovepipe Culture
- Improve understanding  of  how  Line/Staff  Offices impact / benefit each other
- Mission Goals
- Ecosystem approach to management
- Climate variability and change
- Weather and water
- Commerce and transportation
- Critical support for NOAA’s mission

- NMAO

- NWS

- OAR

- NOS

- NMFS

- NESDIS

- X

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**
(The X will animate upon second mouse click and an explosion will sound)

Integral to supporting NOAA’s mission, Strategic Goals, and short and long-term plans, is communication and cooperation between everyone at NOAA.  

To encourage this collaborative environment 5 mission goals were identified within NOAA that are overarching and crosscut the various line offices, creating a matrix managed organization.  These goals work across the line offices, and help those working within line offices to communicate, thereby increasing the strength, knowledge, and effectiveness of the organization.  

A stronger organization means more support for NOAA’s mission and greater support translates to additional resources. 

## Strength in NumbersIntegrated NOAA

- We can not survive without working together.

- Strength in NumbersIntegrated NOAA

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**
With all of us working together we can become a ‘big fish’.  

Divided, NOAA remains vulnerable and its programs lose the strength and expertise that come with value-added communication. 

## “One NOAA” Working Together to Save Lives

- 1330 lives lost
- 770,000 displaced persons
- ~$96 billion in damages

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**
 (Pictures:Note the photo of the Shrimp Boat was taken by Tim Osborn (NOAS) in St. Bernard Parish)
One NOAA’s strength was seen during the devastating hurricane season of 2005.  All of our hurricane partners came together to give the incredibly accurate forecasts released in the days before the hurricanes reducing loss to life and property 

NWS –accurately predicted the path and strength at landfall of Katrina
NESDIS – provided satellite imagery to help assess the impact of the storms on wetlands and other assessments
NRTs –Surveyed the ports and ensured their safety and working under extraordinary conditions to reopen  the Gulf port
Response and Restoration – on the ground evaluating spills and cleaning them up
NOAA’s aircraft fleet - damage assessment flights and digital imagery collection

Storm Stats: Category Three at Landfall on August 29, 2006 along the Gulf Coast with 115 – 130 mph winds and 27-foot storm surge
Human Toll: 330 dead, mostly the elderly/infirm (80% occurring in the New Orleans metropolitan area) with 770,000 people displaced
Econ Stats: 10 oil spills totaling 7.4 million gallons (2/3 of what was spilled in the Valdez spill).  Also, 114 million barrels of oil production capacity were left unused, equivalent to over 1/5 of yearly output in the Gulf of Mexico.. 
Public Health Stats: 170 drinking water facilities destroyed or compromised and dozens of wastewater treatment plants destroyed or compromised also,  38 911-call centers crippled, disrupting local emergency services

You Can’t Appreciate the Destruction and the need for a cooperative rebuilding effort until you are on the ground. 

- Tropical Storm Katrina Model Guidance from Wednesday 08/24/2005 1:00 pm CDT.
- Models indicate possible landfalls from SE Louisiana to South Carolina to no landfall at all within five days

- Why model improvements are needed

- Intensity and track forecasts are interrelated

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**
We did a good job, but we must do better. 

That can start with better models.  This graphic shows the different paths that were predicted for where Katrina would make landfall 5 days before Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.  As you can see, there were several forecasts. Improving this would allow more time for preparation and further reduce the loss of life and property.

To improve forecasting and predictions, scientists and engineers must continue to pursue basic research (NSF & Universities) on the natural processes that produce hazards and understand how and when natural processes become hazardous.

Additionally, new data must be collected and assimilated into advanced and validated models that support an improved understanding of underlying natural system processes and enhance our ability to assess the impacts of tropical storms and hurricanes. 

Partnerships become key in order to bring the best scientific minds to the table and strong Global Earth Observing Systems are integral to collecting the necessary data.  

## Important RolesEarth Observations and disaster resilience

- Important RolesEarth Observations and disaster resilience

- courtesy: Jim Edds, Extremestorms.com

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**

  Earth observations – both satellite and in situ - are at the heart of NOAA’s hurricane forecasts.  Therefore, in order to improve forecasts, we must improve our earth observations systems.   

USGEO is the US component of GEOSS, the Global Earth Observing System of Systems.  GEOSS will greatly advance the ability to predict severe weather (like the 2005 Gulf Hurricanes) and prepare for potential destruction.  Currently, USGEO is in the clearance process with CENR to release their six near term opportunity plans. 

NOAA’s StormReady program is one way to assess a community or business’ preparedness for hurricanes and other storms.  

StormReady communities are better prepared to save lives from the onslaught of severe weather through better planning, education, and awareness. No community is storm proof, but StormReady can help communities save lives. We now have more than 1000 StormReady Communities in 50 states.  

This preparedness works from the ground up, as opposed to data down, to diminish the opportunity for severe weather to create significant destruction.

 Systems of partnerships within and outside NOAA are needed to turn raw observations into useful information that citizens can act on.  This will help to mitigate disasters like Katrina and allow NOAA to access and provide the right information, in the right format, at the right time, to the right people, to make the right decisions.

(video footage provided with permission by Jim Edds, Extremeweather.com [we flew him in a P3 during Katrina over Keys—he’s sending me a DVD of his footage...need to get him back up again this year]... this video shows storm surge from 4 hurricanes - Frances, Isabel, Fabian (Bermuda), and Isidore.

##   One NOAA Opportunities

- NOAA Transition of Research to Operations/Applications
- Providing Clear and Easy Discovery of, and Access to, Data and Information Products
- Incorporating the Capability to Measure Biological Data in Observing Systems including Data Policy and Management of Data
- Hurricane Katrina Fisheries Supplemental
- Sanctuary Designation of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**
This is a small selection of the challenges and opportunities facing NOAA.

NOAA Transition of Research to Operations/Applications
This framework is moving forward and is where “the Rubber meets the Road” All of NOAA must be involved to develop research that will achieve NOAA’s mission.

Providing access to data and information products
We need to develop a way to monitor, dispense and process the information that we have.  GEO, the governing body to GEOSS, is working to address this issue

Incorporating Biological data in observing systems
Coming up with performance measures is a one NOAA task in order to ensure that the measures are effective and accurately capture the vitality of biological systems.

Hurricane Katrina Fisheries Supplemental and Northwest Hawaiian Islands Sanctuary Designation
We need to work together for these projects to be effective both today and into the future. 

## The View from the Hill

- The Good News: NOAA’s work is being recognized by Congress
- But, we have a long way to go....
- New Appropriation Committees
- Differing Views in Congress regarding NOAA’s activities

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**
In light of NOAA’s work before, during, and after the past year’s hurricane season, many in Congress are beginning to recognize NOAA’s work and its importance to promoting safety and security for the Nation.  However, their scope is limited and much of the work NOAA does is still unrecognized. 

The reorganization of the Appropriations committees has left us without a champion on the Senate side with its new staff and the House side is always looking to cut funding where it can.  

In terms of the authorizing committees, it is increasingly hard to make everyone happy.  On the Senate side, the Senate Commerce Committee has 10 subcommittees, all with chairs that have competing interests and different ideas on where NOAA should allocate resources. 

 On the House side, the authorizers are focused too much on concerns they have with NOAA’s satellite program and fisheries management to effectively promote new NOAA programs and support reauthorization of existing programs.  

## Public Viewpoints:Presenting One NOAA

- “NOAA is one of the best-kept secrets in government.”

- “It’s remained a collection of somewhat separate agencies as opposed to a coherent whole.”

- Andrew Rosenberg, member of the Commission on Ocean Policy and former deputy director of NOAA Fisheries.Government Executive, August 1, 2005

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**
Quote from Government Executive, August 1, 2005, pg 59.
Much of the public still sees NOAA as separate entities – the research section, the NWS, NESDIS, etc.  Its great that they like us – but are we best serving the public if we are viewed as a collection of separate agencies?

Additionally, some of the positive perceptions are beginning to shift.  

The public used to see us as an objective third party within the federal government that performed really good science.  NOAA was seen in the past as being apolitical with cutting edge scientists.  In light of recent media battles regarding climate science, the press is beginning to question NOAA’s impartial nature.  

However, some of the “bad” press is good because it gets our name out there.  More people need to understand the value of their tax dollars at NOAA and the breadth of services that NOAA provides.  

NOAA has a talented and dedicated work force.  By collaborating under the goal of ‘one NOAA’ we will be more effective in getting NOAA’s message and high socieital value across.  

## Supporting NOAA’s VisionNOAA Funding Trends(Constant Dollars in Billions)

- Data Source:  DOC Summary of enacted BA

*Base Year 2000*

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**
The base year for this graph is FY 2000. 

The budget request for FY 2007 is listed but since it is not final, ORF, PAC, and other have not been broken out. 

When we consider the affect of Congressional adjustments on NOAA’s operational budget, there is a lot of work to be done.  

We need to rally the NOAA troops, first inside NOAA and then through our partners and stakeholders.  Working together, we can secure resources for the organization into the future. 

## Current EnvironmentAppropriations Reorganization a Surprise

- NOAA is now considered by both the Senate and House subcommittees with:
- 	=$16.8 B FY ‘07 budget request
- 		=$6.02B FY ’07 budget request
- 			=$3.7B FY ’07 budget request

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**
As I discussed earlier, this reorganization of our appropriation committee was not expected.  It has created a new environment where we must create a champion.

Additionally, We are now competing directly with two other science agencies, NASA and the National Science Foundation.  This means that we must continue to assert our importance and the value of our services to the public in the present and the future to grasp a bigger piece of the pie. 

## What Can You do?

- Performance Is Here To Stay
- How do you demonstrate performance in terms of cases won or costs avoided because of superior legal representation?
- How do NOAA legal requirements fit into NOAA programs?

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**
We need to understand that it is important to measure the performance of the work done by NOAA GCs  - Must highlight the Value Added here. 

We also need to understand how NOAA legal requirements fit into NOAA programs since they cut through most of what NOAA does. 

SCOTT – NAG (NOAA’s Attorneys’ Guild) – Thank Marguerite Matera 

## What You Should Take Away

- NOAA’s Future is Challenging!
- NOAA is:
- Working hard to improve a successful Scientific Organization
- Retooling critical infrastructure elements
- Engaging our partners to help meet our mission requirements
- All Of Us Working Together With A Unified Vision & Consistent Message
- Working as one to maintain the strength of the organization throughout administrations

- One NOAA: A Sustainable Collaboration--DRAFT

**Notes:**
NOAA as an organization can make the largest strides in improvement by integration, innovation, and retooling of our administrative services.

We need to work together to stay strong and develop into the future. 

## Questions?