GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

441 G St. N.W.

Washington, DC 20548

June 28, 2013

The Honorable Lamar Smith

Chairman

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

House of Representatives

The Honorable Paul Broun, M.D.

Chairman

Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

House of Representatives

NOAA: Overview of the Strategy, Execution, and Evaluation Budgeting Process

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is the largest bureau within the 

Department of Commerce, with a mission encompassing a broad range of functions, including 

weather forecasting, climate monitoring, fisheries management, and supporting coastal 

restoration and marine commerce. To carry out this mission in fiscal year 2012, NOAA received 

appropriations of about $4.9 billion. In 2002, according to NOAA documents, NOAA 

implemented a planning, programming, budgeting, and execution system to achieve compliance 

with external demands for improved strategic management and performance-based budgeting, 

as set forth in the President’s Management Agenda and the Government Performance and 

Results Act of 1993.1

 1

Government Performance and Results Act, Pub. L. No. 103-62 (1993), 107 Stat. 285, amended by GPRA 

Modernization Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-352, 142 Stat. 3866 (2011).

According to NOAA officials, NOAA determined in 2010, on the basis of 

internal and external reviews, that this system was too complex and time-consuming and did not 

provide an efficient mechanism for effective agency decision making. In 2011, NOAA 

implemented a new process—called strategy, execution, and evaluation (SEE)—which was 

intended to be simpler, less administratively burdensome, and better aligned with NOAA’s 

strategic plan than the preceding planning, programming, budgeting, and execution system.
Page 2 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

You asked us to provide information on NOAA’s budget development and execution system. 

This report identifies (1) the SEE process steps for developing and executing NOAA’s budget, 

(2) how NOAA uses the SEE process to identify budget requirements, and (3) the status of 

NOAA’s efforts to implement SEE. The enclosure contains the briefing on these topics that was 

presented to your offices on May 2, 2013.

To conduct our work, we reviewed relevant NOAA policies, such as the NOAA document

establishing the SEE process, and guidance for producing the documentation that is required at 

various steps in the SEE process, including guidance on developing implementation plans. We 

also reviewed reports and documents created as part of the SEE process for fiscal years 2011 

and 2012, including the agency’s annual guidance memorandum and corporate portfolio 

analysis. We interviewed NOAA headquarters officials responsible for creating and overseeing 

the SEE process, including officials from NOAA’s Office of Program Planning and Integration 

and officials from NOAA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer. We also interviewed officials 

involved with the SEE process in each of NOAA’s six line offices, such as the National Ocean

Service, National Weather Service, and others.

We conducted our work from November 2012 to June 2013 in accordance with all sections of 

GAO’s Quality Assurance Framework that are relevant to our objectives. The framework 

requires that we plan and perform the engagement to obtain sufficient and appropriate evidence 

to meet our stated objectives and to discuss any limitations in our work. We believe that the 

information and data obtained, and the analysis conducted, provide a reasonable basis for any 

findings and conclusions in this product.

In summary, we found the following:

• NOAA’s SEE process includes seven steps, which are generally referred to by the 

names of the documents that capture the decisions made at that step. The first four 

steps in a SEE cycle cover planning, budget formulation, and budget submission, and 

the last three steps cover budget execution and performance evaluation (see fig. 1).
Page 3 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Figure 1: Steps in the Strategy, Execution and Evaluation Process

• NOAA uses several steps in the SEE process to identify budget requirements. Step 1 is 

meant to identify budget needs from the “top down” on the basis of the NOAA 

Administrator’s priorities as captured in the annual guidance memorandum. Step 2 is 

meant to identify budget requirements from the “bottom up” on the basis of program 

needs as identified in the implementation plans that NOAA staff prepare for each of the 

goals and objectives in the agency’s strategic plan. Agency leaders reconcile the budget 

requirements in step 3 (corporate portfolio analysis) and make budget recommendations 

in a decision memorandum.

• NOAA has largely implemented all of the SEE steps except for steps 5 and 7 (corporate 

portfolio review and progress to plan). NOAA officials told us that they intend to 

implement these steps and a new evaluation component of SEE in fiscal year 2013. 

Officials told us that fiscal year 2013 will be the first opportunity to conduct steps 5 and 7

because it is the first year for which the agency has completed a full budget cycle under 
Page 4 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

the SEE process.

2 In May 2012, NOAA created an evaluation committee that, among 

other activities, is beginning to develop an agencywide plan for collecting and 

disseminating information on planned and completed program evaluations and to 

produce a program evaluation handbook to guide NOAA staff in conducting program 

evaluations.

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

We provided a draft of this report to the Department of Commerce for review and comment. The 

department provided technical comments that we incorporated, as appropriate.

— — —

As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce the contents of this report earlier, we 

plan no further distribution until 30 days from the report date. At that time, we will send copies to 

the appropriate congressional committees, the Secretary of Commerce, the NOAA 

Administrator, and other interested parties. In addition, the report will be available at no charge 

on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov. 

If you or your staff members have any questions concerning this report, please contact me at 

(202) 512-3841 or fennella@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations 

and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. Key contributors to this report 

were Stephen D. Secrist (Assistant Director), Elizabeth Beardsley, Casey L. Brown, Ellen W. 

Chu, Jacqueline M. Nowicki, and Josie Ostrander.

Anne-Marie Fennell

Director, Natural Resources and Environment

 2

NOAA was able to implement step 6 (annual operating plans) for fiscal years 2011 and 2012, in part because this 

step does not depend on completing step 5 (corporate portfolio review).
Page 5 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Enclosure

Briefing on NOAA’s Budget Development and Execution Process

NOAA’s Budget Development 

and Execution Process

Briefing to the 

Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, 

House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

May 2, 2013

For more information, contact Anne-Marie Fennell at (202) 512-3841 or fennella@gao.gov Page 1
Page 6 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Introduction

• The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a 

bureau within the Department of Commerce, encompasses functions including 

weather forecasting, climate monitoring, fisheries management, and supporting coastal 

restoration and marine commerce. 

• In fiscal year 2012, NOAA received core appropriations of about $4.9 billion and relied 

primarily on five mission-related line offices to execute its programs (see fig. 1, blue 

boxes).

• A sixth line office, Program Planning and Integration, coordinates agencywide planning

and evaluation activities (see fig. 1, red circle).

Figure 1: NOAA’s Organizational Structure

Source: GAO.

Page 2

NOAA Headquarters

National 

Environmental 

Satellite, Data, and 

Information Service

National Marine 

Fisheries Service 

(NMFS)

National Ocean 

Service

National Weather 

Service

Office of Oceanic 

and Atmospheric 

Research

Program 

Planning and 

Integration
Page 7 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Introduction (cont.)

• In 2002, according to NOAA documents, NOAA implemented a planning, 

programming, budgeting, and execution system (PPBES) to achieve compliance with 

external demands for improved strategic management and performance-based 

budgeting, as set forth in the President’s Management Agenda and the Government 

Performance and Results Act of 1993.

• According to NOAA officials, in 2010, on the basis of internal and external reviews, 

NOAA determined that its PPBES was too complex and time-consuming and did not 

provide an efficient mechanism for effective agency decision making.

Page 3
Page 8 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Introduction (cont.)

• In 2011, NOAA implemented a new process—called strategy, execution, and 

evaluation (SEE)—which was intended to be simpler, less administratively 

burdensome, and better aligned with NOAA’s strategic plan than PPBES.

• NOAA’s strategic plan contains 28 objectives organized under four long-term goals and 

three functions that support the whole agency, known as enterprise capabilities (see 

table 1).

Table 1: NOAA’s Goals and Enterprise Capabilities

Source: NOAA.

Page 4

Goals Enterprise capabilities

Climate adaptation and mitigation Engagement (with the public and 

stakeholders)

Weather-ready nation Science and technology

Healthy oceans Organization and administration

Resilient coastal communities and economies
Page 9 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objectives

This briefing responds to your request for information on NOAA’s budget 

development and execution system. In our work, we identified:

1. the steps in the SEE process for developing and executing NOAA’s budget;

2. how NOAA uses the SEE process to identify budget requirements; and

3. the status of NOAA’s efforts to implement SEE.

Page 5
Page 10 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Scope and Methodology

• To address these objectives, we reviewed NOAA’s policies, procedures, 

guidance, and other documents regarding the SEE process.

• We reviewed reports and documents created as part of the SEE process for 

fiscal years 2011 and 2012. 

• We interviewed NOAA headquarters officials responsible for creating and 

overseeing the SEE process. 

• We also interviewed officials involved with the SEE process in each of the six 

NOAA line offices.

Page 6
Page 11 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objective 1: Overview of the SEE Process

• The SEE process includes seven steps, which are generally referred to by the names 

of the documents that capture the decisions made at that step.

• Steps 1 through 4 cover planning, budget formulation, and submission.

• Steps 5 through 7 cover budget execution and performance evaluation.

Figure 2: The SEE Process

Source: GAO.

Page 7

1. Annual 

guidance 

memorandum

2. 

Implementation 

plans

3. Corporate 

portfolio 

analysis

4. Budget 

submission

5. Corporate 

portfolio 

review

6. Annual 

operating 

plans

7. Progress to 

plan
Page 12 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objective 1 : Planning

• Step 1 (annual guidance memorandum): NOAA’s Administrator issues the agency’s 

annual guidance memorandum. This memorandum defines administration priorities for 

the current and subsequent fiscal years and discusses fiscal constraints. 

• Step 2 (implementation plans): NOAA mission staff create implementation plans for 

each of the goals and objectives in NOAA’s strategic plan. These multiyear plans cover 

specific program activities and identify budget requirements, assess risks of not 

funding these requirements, and present options for addressing these risks.

Page 8
Page 13 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objective 1 : Budget Formulation

• Step 3 (corporate portfolio analysis): As described in SEE guidance, NOAA’s executive 

council, chaired by the NOAA Administrator and comprising the assistant 

administrators of each line office and various other headquarters officials, considers 

the corporate portfolio analysis, which is a review of the implementation plans as a set; 

assesses budget requirements and risks at an agency level; and makes budget 

recommendations in a decision memorandum. 

• Step 4 (budget submission): NOAA’s Chief Financial Officer formulates a budget 

request, which is reviewed by NOAA’s executive council and presented to the NOAA 

Administrator for review and approval and subsequent submission to the Department 

of Commerce.

Page 9
Page 14 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objective 1 : Budget Execution

• Step 5 (corporate portfolio review): NOAA’s Chief Financial Officer conducts a 

corporate portfolio review, as described in the corresponding NOAA document of the 

same name, which is intended to reassess the priorities identified by the corporate 

portfolio analysis and to reconcile them with NOAA’s enacted appropriations.

• Step 6 (annual operating plans): The line office assistant administrators create annual 

operating plans for the current fiscal year, which provide a written narrative of planned 

accomplishments, key milestones, and performance measures for the fiscal year.

• Step 7 (progress to plan): The Assistant Administrator of the Program Planning and 

Integration office coordinates an evaluation, known as progress to plan, to evaluate 

NOAA’s progress in meeting the goals and objectives of its strategic plan.

Page 10
Page 15 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objective 2: How NOAA Uses SEE to Identify 

Budget Requirements

• According to SEE guidance, the annual guidance memorandum (step 1) identifies the 

NOAA Administrator’s priorities, and the implementation plans (step 2) identify the line 

office budget needs. These priorities and needs are reconciled in the corporate 

portfolio analysis (step 3).

• In this way, the SEE process includes mechanisms where budget requirements are 

identified “top-down” on the basis of administration priorities and “bottom-up” on the 

basis of program needs.

Figure 3: Reconciling Budget Requirements

Source : GAO.

Page 11

Annual guidance 

memorandum 

(top-down)

Implementation 

plans 

(bottom-up)

Corporate 

portfolio 

analysis
Page 16 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objective 2: How SEE Identifies Budget 

Requirements (cont.)

• For example, in the 2010 annual guidance memorandum (step 1), the NOAA 

Administrator defined several short-term agency goals, such as increasing the number 

of fisheries stock assessments to ensure sustainable fisheries management and 

improving ocean, climate, and weather observations to better predict weather and 

coastal hazards. 

• In a 2011 implementation plan related to NOAA’s science and technology enterprise 

capabilities (step 2), NOAA staff identified a number of issues related to the operation, 

maintenance, and recapitalization of NOAA’s fleet of ships and aircraft.

• As indicated in the implementation plan, this fleet is used to support various aspects of 

NOAA’s mission related to fisheries management; scientific research; and ocean, 

climate, and weather observations.

• The implementation plan noted that given the age and maintenance needs of the 

NOAA fleet, existing funds are inadequate to (1) operate the fleet so as to make full 

use of its scientific observation and data collection equipment and (2) maintain the 

fleet to ensure it can reach its full service life.

Page 12
Page 17 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objective 2: How SEE Identifies Budget 

Requirements (cont.)

• To address this funding issue, the implementation plan included options, such as 

taking some ships offline to conserve funding for the remaining ships, continuing to 

operate all ships at a reduced capacity, or seeking additional funding.

• In the 2011 corporate portfolio analysis (step 3), NOAA’s executive council identified 

fleet aging and maintenance needs as among the 24 key issues posing the greatest 

risk to NOAA’s core mission and ability to achieve priorities set forth in the annual 

guidance memorandum.

• NOAA’s executive council recommended in the corporate portfolio analysis (step 3) 

that NOAA should 

• seek up to $130 million in supplemental appropriations in fiscal year 2013 to 

increase funding for fleet operations, maintenance, and recapitalization and

• develop an approach for establishing an independent “blue ribbon” assessment of 

NOAA fleet requirements and alternatives for collecting observation data.

Page 13
Page 18 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objective 3: Status of SEE Implementation

NOAA has largely implemented all of the SEE steps except for steps 5 and 7 (corporate 

portfolio review and progress to plan). NOAA intends to implement these steps and the 

evaluation component of SEE in 2013.

• According to NOAA officials, NOAA intends to implement SEE step 5—corporate 

portfolio review—for fiscal year 2013 after it has submitted its spending plans to 

congressional appropriations committees and receives their comments.

• Fiscal year 2013 is the first opportunity for NOAA to conduct a corporate portfolio 

review (step 5) under the SEE process, because NOAA formulated the budgets for 

prior fiscal years under the PPBES process. 

• NOAA officials explained that the agency faces challenges implementing this step in 

the manner envisioned in the SEE guidance documents, in part because of 

uncertainties and delays associated with recent federal appropriations. 

Page 14
Page 19 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objective 3: Status of SEE Implementation (cont.)

• NOAA officials told us that the agency intends to implement SEE step 7—progress to 

plan—in 2013.

• They explained that this step is intended to 

• assess NOAA’s progress toward achieving the goals and objectives of the 

agency’s strategic plan and

• inform NOAA’s efforts to revise its strategic plan, which the agency is required by 

law to complete by February 2014. 

Page 15
Page 20 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objective 3: Status of SEE Implementation 

(cont.)

• NOAA issued a guidance memorandum on March 1, 2013, that divides 

step 7—progress to plan—into three phases to be completed by August 2013, as 

follows: 

1. Teams of NOAA staff produce a report for each of the 28 objectives in the strategic 

plan that, among other things, evaluates NOAA’s progress in meeting its 

objectives, according to a review of data from existing performance measures, 

and also evaluates the continuing utility of the performance measures in the plan.

2. Review teams analyze the 28 reports on strategic plan objectives and recommend 

changes to the strategic plan and performance measures.

3. The teams that created the 28 reports on strategic plan objectives create action 

plans for implementing the recommendations.

Page 16
Page 21 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objective 3: Status of Evaluation

NOAA has not yet fully implemented the evaluation component of SEE, according to 

agency officials.

• In May 2012, NOAA created an evaluation committee of officials throughout 

NOAA.

• Under direction of the Office of Program Planning and Integration, the evaluation 

committee is beginning to

• create a NOAA-wide program evaluation plan to collect and disseminate 

information on planned and completed program evaluations at the line and 

staff office levels;

• create a program evaluation handbook to guide line and staff offices in 

conducting program evaluations; and

• provide training courses on program evaluation for NOAA staff.

Page 17
Page 22 GAO-13-649R NOAA’s Budgeting Process

Objective 3: Revising the SEE Process

• NOAA officials told us that NOAA conducted an internal survey on the SEE process in 

2011.

• The survey was sent to headquarters and line office staff to solicit feedback on 

what aspects of SEE are working well and what should be revised.

• NOAA made minor adjustments to the SEE process on the basis of the feedback 

received. For example, NOAA revised some of the time frames and guidance 

associated with steps in the SEE process.

• NOAA is now conducting a second internal survey on the SEE process and expects to 

make further changes to it in summer 2013. 

• NOAA officials told us that a new NOAA Administrator may review the SEE process 

and decide to revise or replace it. 

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