# Presentation: 192522

## NOAA Research Review Team

- Berrien Moore IIIUniversity of New HampshireRichard D. RosenNOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric ResearchAndrew A. RosenbergUniversity of New HampshireRichard W. SpinradNOAA National Ocean ServiceWarren M. WashingtonNational Center for Atmospheric ResearchRichard D. WestConsortium for Oceanographic Research and Education

## CHARGE

-   Does the research conducted by the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research provide effective support and vision for NOAA by enabling it to improve products and services, and to introduce new products and services through the transfer of technology and the development and application of scientific understanding*?*
- Is OAR adequately linked to NOAA’s operational line offices- National Weather Service (NWS), National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and National Ocean Service (NOS)- and are the research programs relevant to the needs of these organizations? If so, what are the benefits? If not, what changes would the Review Team recommend? Is it adequately connected to the Program Planning and Integration Office?

## CHARGE

-   How do the management structure and processes of OAR compare to those of other agencies managing research? Based on that analysis, should OAR be dissolved into its constituent components and distributed across NOAA, should it be left as is, or should NOAA consolidate all of its research activities into a single organization?
-   Focusing specifically on the OAR labs, would consolidation of the labs yield a more effective scientific program? If so, what would the Team recommend?
-   Would lab consolidation yield a more efficient structure, by reducing administrative overhead, infrastructure, and manpower? If so, what would the Team recommend?

## ENVIRONMENT

-   Concerns on the Hill--one consequence is the Congressional Language, which lead to the RRT;
-   Difficult budget environment--particularly for research;
-   The new Climate Change Science Program;
-   The Global Earth Observing System of Systems framework, and
-   The recently released Preliminary Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.

## OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES

-   A sustained research program is essential for a science-based agency with long-term operational responsibilities.
-   Research in support of the organization’s mission should cover a spectrum of temporal frames. A Research Plan with milestones is necessary to ensure continuity across this spectrum.
-   A culture of risk tolerance commensurate with a robust investment in long-term research with potentially high programmatic ...

## OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES

-   Extramural research is essential ...
-   The research program must be an open, merit-based process ...  The infrastructure supporting extramural research, including the administration of grants and contracts, needs to encourage and facilitate their participation ...
-   Trust in and respect for the integrity of the research planning process is essential.  The budget should be simple, transparent... Fragmentation of the budget into a large number of line items is an impediment to continuity and flexibility in the research program.

## OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES

-   Research priorities must be consistent with the overall mission and goals of the organization, and the strategy for ensuring that consistency must be explicit.  These priorities must be formally expressed in an enterprise-wide Research Plan...
-   Research responsibilities include identification, in collaboration with operational lines, of relevant operational requirements, including regulatory responsibilities, and efficient transition of research into operations and information products...
-   Research planning and investment must be agency-wide...

## OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES

-   In-house scientific expertise must be fostered, over the long-term, in those recognized areas where a science-based agency has a major mission-related responsibility...  A science-based agency must be able to lead national and international research and assessment efforts through intramural and extramural programs.
-   To the extent possible, budgeting and funding streams for the research program must guarantee continuity with flexibility.  Both intramural science and research and extramural programs are necessarily multi-year efforts, and multi-year funding must be planned for with reasonable certainty ...  Budgeting should be based on the research plan as far as possible.

## ORGANIZATIONAL PRINCIPLES

-   The overall research enterprise should be viewed as a corporate program.  Explicit linkages between research efforts across organizational lines must be forged and maintained ...
-   There must be a single point of accountability for all science and research and this must be at the highest levels of the organization ...
-   Formal mechanisms that clearly define responsibilities for transitioning research into operations and information services, including the commitment of resources, must be agreed to and understood throughout the agency.

## ORGANIZATIONAL PRINCIPLES

-   Organization must follow function as specified in the organization’s strategic plan; therefore, if the transition of research into scientific advice, operations, services, and information is to be successful, then this function must be reflected clearly in the organization and in its processes.
-   Dedicated resources for research that is focused on mid- to longer-term mission needs are essential.  Locating these resources for intramural and extramural research in a research line can ensure these needs are not subsumed by shorter-term operational demands.

## ORGANIZATIONAL PRINCIPLES

-   Research that addresses near-term improvements to current operational capabilities should be formally aligned, with the operational activity organizationally and/or through explicit operating agreements...
-   Scientific advice including that needed to meet operational resource management requirements should be formally aligned to the corporate research program to ensure that policy is based on the best available science.
-   The structure of the organization should foster not only intra-agency but also inter-agency collaboration in the research enterprise.

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONResearch Plan and NOAA’s Mission 

**FINDING:** The NOAA Strategic Plan is a valuable guide for the future of the agency ...  We find, however, that there is neither a research strategy nor a research plan to support the Strategic Plan.  We also find that this lack contributes significantly to a severe *communication problem* ...  The absence of  a longer-term research vision, will undermine NOAA’s future operational and informational services capabilities.
**RECOMMENDATION:** NOAA should develop a Vision for Research that supports the Strategic Plan ...  NOAA should also develop a NOAA-wide Research Plan that provides explicit guidance including specific programmatic actions, performance measures, and milestones for implementing the Research Vision.

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONResearch Organization within NOAA

**Finding:** NOAA needs a stronger and more coherent research management structure to execute a NOAA-wide Research Plan.  The NOAA Research Council can play a vital role in defining NOAA's research mission.  The role of the OAR Assistant Administrator, as its Chair of the Council, could provide senior management important control over the needed Research Vision and associated Research Plan.
**Recommendation: **NOAA should establish the position of Associate Administrator for Research reporting directly to the NOAA Administrator and who would have budget authority for research across NOAA.
- We recommend two formal bodies to manage NOAA’s research enterprise. The first is a Research Board, chaired by the Associate Administrator for Research; the second is a Research Council, chaired by the Assistant Administrator for OAR.

## RECOMMENDATION(cont.)

- The NOAA Research Board should be a a standing committee of the NOAA Executive Council. Senior NOAA management should determine the membership.  One possible scenario for membership of the Research Board would be the NOAA Assistant Administrators.  The Research Board would be responsible for execution of the NOAA Research Vision and Plan and for timely progress in meeting research milestones... The Associate Administrator for Research would exercise budget authority over research in NOAA ... [and] would be charged with achieving the appropriate balance and direction of research and development across the line offices.
- In each of the Line Offices there should be a senior manager for the research program reporting directly to the Assistant Administrator.  These senior managers form the Research Council... This Council would be an implementing and information gathering arm of the Research Board (i.e., would serve as a working group).

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONTransitioning NOAA Research to Operations and Information Services 

**Finding:** The transition of research to operations occurs at many levels and through many channels, and within NOAA there have been numerous successful transfers of research into operations and information services...NOAA must address the proper agency balance between research push and operations pull for research investment.  Because the various line offices within NOAA address mission needs from a different approach and timescale, this balance must be addressed and managed by agency leadership.  The push-pull tension between research and service is inherent to the enterprise.
**Recommendation: **The recommended Research Plan should address directly the transition of research to operational products and services.  The Research Council and recommended Board should assure that this aspect of the Plan is well executed.  The Research Plan should make clear that both research and operations activities share management, programmatic, and fiscal responsibilities for transition... In each of the mission line offices there should be a structure at the senior management level to manage the research enterprise and the transition of research products to operations and information services.

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONResearch Location within NOAA 

**Finding:** NOAA conducts research in all line offices.  Some of the research programs have a long history, and aspects of the current distribution are a reflection of this history.  There is no formal process or criteria for structuring the NOAA-wide research organization, nor is there a clearly articulated process for determining, on an ongoing basis, where different types of research will be located in the larger organization.
- We find that there is a requirement for long-term research, and it must be identified and managed agency-wide... We also find that there is a difference between operational responsibilities and regulatory responsibilities...We believe it is appropriate to separate the purely operational activities from the mid- to longer-term research effort.
- In mission areas like fisheries, coastal zone management, or more generally ecosystem-based management, NOAA must provide the best advice on which to base management and regulatory decisions.  This scientific advice is best based on work in a research environment.  Locating this work offers different challenges.  NOAA must exercise caution to ensure that the research program is not unduly influenced by regulatory responsibilities, but at same time, it is essential to ensure that the best science is available and responsive to policy and management needs including the regulatory process.
**Recommendation: **The recommended Research Plan should address directly the transition of research to operational products and services.  The Research Council and recommended Board should assure that this aspect of the Plan is well executed.  The Research Plan should make clear that both research and operations activities share management, programmatic, and fiscal responsibilities for transition.... In each of the mission line offices there should be a structure at the senior management level to manage the research enterprise and the transition of research products to operations and information services.

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONResearch Location within NOAA(cont) 

**Finding (cont.):** “Building the linkages between research, scientific advice, and management will continue to challenge NOAA.  Maintaining the research program within NOS and NMFS with appropriate safeguards for the higher-risk, more basic research efforts can do this.  It can also be accomplished by having the research in a separate organizational structure with clear and unambiguous responsibility to meet management and regulatory needs.  The Review Team notes that the former approach facilitates the provision of scientific advice for management, but the latter approach may provide a more integrated research effort and enhance extramural involvement.”

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONResearch Location within NOAA(cont) 

**Recommendation: **NOAA should develop a clear set of criteria for determining where research programs are located within NOAA.  These criteria should be applied to new programs immediately, and over the next two years, the Research Board should apply these criteria in a review of the organizational location of the existing research activities and identify opportunities for possible migration.
- We recommend retaining and strengthening a line office with the predominant mission of research, i.e., OAR.  There must be a stronger commitment generally to long-term, visionary research for all of NOAA areas of responsibility... At the same time, it is essential that the “culture” of the research line be such that the research is not isolated from the overall mission and other activities of the organization.
- To address the daunting challenge of ecosystem management, NOAA should establish an external Task Team to evaluate and strengthen the structure and function of ecosystem research in, and sponsored by, NMFS, NOS, and OAR.

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONExtramural Research in NOAA 

**Finding:** Extramural research is critical to accomplishing NOAA’s mission. Academic scientists also benefit from working with NOAA, in part, by learning to make their research more directly relevant to management and policy. It is an important two-way street. NOAA has, however, not managed this external research component with the proper awareness of its role in the NOAA mission.  It has not articulated, agency-wide, the role of extramural research, nor provided Congress and OMB sufficient explanation for the importance of its external partners.
**Recommendation: **The importance of extramural research requires documentation and articulation to the DoC, to OMB, and to Congress.  The role of extramural research should be clearly delineated in NOAA’s Research Vision and Plan.  It should also be an integral part of NOAA’s budget presentation to Commerce, OMB and the Hill. NOAA must use best business practices in its support of extramural research. NOAA should formalize the involvement of the extramural community in the assessment and evaluation of the Agency’s overall research activity. The Science Advisory Board of NOAA can provide an important leadership role in the assessment of NOAA’s extramural research activities.

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONCooperative Research in NOAA 

**Finding:** The NOAA cooperative research institutions (including Joint Institutes, Cooperative Institutes, and Joint Centers) have been productive partners with the NOAA research programs for many years.  Cooperative research programs, unlike extramural research supported in response to specific announcements of opportunity, involve long-term partnerships between NOAA and other parties.  They provide the mechanism for a unique set of partnerships that help leverage the research that NOAA needs to fulfill its mission in serving the Nation’s needs.
- There is no clear statement on guidelines for the creation of a NOAA Joint Institute; they can be established on an *ad-hoc* basis and sometimes they are created by Congressional action.
**Recommendation: **NOAA should establish a process by which Joint Institutes and other cooperative arrangements with extramural partners are established and maintained.
- The guidelines should also define the review process, the renewal process, and sunset clauses.

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONReimbursable Research in NOAA 

**Finding:** In some cases, the historical legacy governs not only the laboratory location but also its funding strategy. In particular, the use of reimbursable support varies among all line offices. We further find that reimbursable work to fund laboratory budgets has, at times, conflicted with providing research support for NOAA mission priorities.  Some of these arrangements have led to serious budget issues and to problematic mission foci in some laboratories.
- The key issue, however, is that there is no clear corporate guidance regarding solicitation or receipt of such external support
**Recommendation: **We strongly recommend that NOAA review its policies and procedures for the management of reimbursable funding and that NOAA develop and implement clear guidelines to better manage this complex issue.  Reimbursable funds should only be used to support NOAA research activities when that research relates directly to NOAA’s mission.

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONResearch Organization within OAR

**Finding:** The directors of the OAR Laboratories and the Joint Institutes have substantial independence in setting the research agendas for their laboratories and institutes.  While there are some positive aspects of this independence, it is obvious to the Review Team that there has not been sufficiently strong leadership and processes in OAR to ensure that all of the OAR laboratory activities are well focused and integrated into NOAA’s mission. We have also found insufficient definition of focus and scope of research activities across the laboratories within OAR.
**Recommendation: **Within OAR, each laboratory should have a clearly defined mission statement setting forth priorities that are clearly linked to the NOAA Strategic Plan, Research Vision, and Research Plan. There should be a single authority for OAR laboratory programs and Joint Institutes who would have budgetary authority over the OAR laboratories and Joint Institutes, and who would report directly to the OAR Assistant Administrator (AA).

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONResearch Organization within OAR Boulder Laboratories

**Finding:** The accomplishments of the Boulder laboratories have contributed significantly to advancing NOAA’s mission. We believe that the potential benefits from consolidating these five OAR Boulder laboratories are improved quality of research planning and execution; more efficient use of infrastructure resources and funding; and increased opportunities for multi-disciplinary collaboration.  Consolidation would greatly facilitate the continued development of an internationally recognized center of excellence.  This Center would focus on achieving and synthesizing critically important long-term measurements of the atmosphere to improve understanding and thereby to realize new predictive capabilities.  This potential benefit clearly outweighs the near-term, challenging demands and difficulties that such consolidation will impose.
**Recommendation: **The review team recommends that there be a laboratory consolidation of the five OAR laboratories in Boulder into a single Center.

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONResearch Organization within the Air Resources Laboratory

**Finding:** The Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) is the most managerially complex laboratory within OAR.  It serves the nation well, but the complexity of the organization may limit its long-term effectiveness and ability to identify with NOAA’s mission.  It is important to note that NOAA is an interconnected part of the federal research program, and care should be exercised that this important government capability not be lost.
**Recommendation: **There should be a core capability analysis conducted to determine areas of most effective mission alignment and to identify opportunities for improved organizational coordination.
- If the analysis demonstrates that there could be gains in efficiency, enhancements in synergy, elimination of duplication of efforts, and increased organizational and financial transparency, then the functions of ARL should be realigned, consolidated with other entities, or eliminated. Finally if the core capability analysis of ARL proves useful, then NOAA should consider applying a similar analysis to those other research components of the organization that are supported substantially by reimbursable funding.

## FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONContinuing Oversight of NOAA Research

**Finding:** There have been previous external reviews conducted that recommended changes in how NOAA defined and conducted research; we found little change as a result of these reviews and recommendations.  The fact that Congress directed very specific actions with regard to NOAA research in the FY 2004 appropriations bills also indicates that NOAA has not instituted the necessary changes that Congress deems necessary.  We also heard similar concerns from OMB.
**Recommendation: **The Review Team believes that an External Committee should be established to review this report and previous relevant reviews and to report directly to the NOAA Administrator on progress in reforming the research enterprise in NOAA.

## RESPONDING TO THE CHARGETransition Research

*Does the research conducted by the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research provide effective support and vision for NOAA by enabling it to improve products and services, and to introduce new products and services through the transfer of technology and the development and application of scientific understanding?*
**Response: **The research conducted and supported by OAR provides the scientific basis for the agency’s future products and services.  Despite numerous examples of successfully transferring this research into operations, there is a need to give substantially more emphasis and structure to this process.
- The transfer of research into operations must be addressed on an agency-wide basis through the Research Council and Board...Additionally, each of the line offices should institute a formal structure at the senior management level to address this process.  OAR, in particular, should establish an entity reporting directly to the OAR Assistant Administrator that oversees that research is transferred to operations and services.

## RESPONDING TO THE CHARGEConnectivity

*Is OAR adequately linked to NOAA’s other line offices and are the research programs relevant to the needs of these organizations? If so, what are the benefits? If not, what changes would the Team recommend? Is it adequately connected to the Program Planning and Integration Office?*
**Response: **The benefits of linkages between OAR and other NOAA lines are large and crucial to NOAA’s mission as a science-based agency. There are good examples of linkages between the NOAA line offices that result in collaborative research programs across lines, a clear connection of research to operational needs, and the transition of research products to operational products.
- However, these linkages are most often developed on an *ad hoc* basis resulting from connections between individual researchers or programs rather than organizational imperatives. The interactions must be formalized organizationally, encouraged for both the research and operations, and recognized fully by NOAA corporately.

## RESPONDING TO THE CHARGEManagement Structure

*How do the management structure and processes of OAR compare to those of other agencies managing research? Based on that analysis, should OAR be dissolved into its constituent components and distributed across NOAA, should it be left as is, or should NOAA consolidate all of its research activities into a single organization?*
**Response: **Neither NOAA nor OAR has the management structure or process to manage a large research enterprise that we observed in other science-based organization.
- Regarding the issue of migrating all of NOAA research to the line offices, this is not a wise course of action.  The changes recommended in management and structure are more appropriate to the issues facing OAR and NOAA. On consolidating all of its research activities into a single organization, we do not have a sufficiently clear sense of direction to make a definitive recommendation.  We do, however, have a clear sense of the scope of realistic and reasonable possibilities.

## RESPONDING TO THE CHARGELaboratory Consolidation: A more effective scientific program

*Focusing specifically on the OAR labs, would consolidation of the labs yield a more effective scientific program? If so, what would the Team recommend?*
**Response: **In the opinion of the Review Team, there is an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of the five OAR laboratories in Boulder through consolidation. We believe that forming a Boulder Center would open the possibility of not only more effective management but also strengthening the ability of scientists within each lab to interact with colleagues in other labs (at Boulder or elsewhere).  The Boulder laboratory scientists are engaged in some important collaborative research within the laboratories and with other organizations, which needs to be  fostered to the maximum extent possible.  With increased connectivity to a broader set of NOAA laboratories, there would, undoubtedly, follow an enhanced effectiveness in meeting a broader set of NOAA needs.

## RESPONDING TO THE CHARGELaboratory Consolidation: A more efficient structure

*Would lab consolidation yield a more efficient structure, by reducing administrative overhead and infrastructure/manpower? If so, what would the Team recommend? **Strong fiscal constraints for the foreseeable future mean that the Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and NOAA leadership must seek ways to prioritize more effectively research activities.*
**Response: **The areas offering the greatest potential for possible efficiencies involve functions at a consolidated Boulder Center. We note that progress has already been made through the executive management system in information technology.  Some additional efficiency may be expected by consolidation into one IT security plan and standardized hardware and software; this issue will need further study to consider the impact on scientific operations.  It is unlikely that there will be substantial financial savings from a consolidation but, if any, it should be re-invested in the NOAA research enterprise.

## Concluding Remarks

- We focused upon evolutionary changes that will lead to a stronger and more effective NOAA.  This will be good for the country and the planet.  We have also considered and debated more radical changes such as dissolving the lines and restructuring NOAA along simpler dimensions such as: Observations, Services, Regulation, and Research.  This more revolutionary change merits further consideration.
- In change there is opportunity.