- National Oceanographic Partnership Program
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Abbreviation NOPP Motto Promoting Partnerships for the Future of Oceanography Formation 1997 Purpose/focus Oceanography research, funding, education Headquarters Washington, D.C. Program Coordinator Leigh Zimmermann Website nopp.org Remarks Host organization is the Consortium for Ocean Leadership The National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) is an innovative collaboration of U.S. federal government agencies that fund research partnerships in academia, government, industry, and non-governmental organizations.
NOPP adds integrative value to the individual oceanography (ocean science), resource management and ocean education missions of the federal agencies and their partners in common pursuit of the wise use of the oceans and the maintenance of their health.
Contents
Overview
NOPP was established by the United States Congress Public Law 104-201 in Fiscal Year 1997 for two general purposes:
- To promote the national goals of assuring national security, advancing economic development, protecting quality of life, and strengthening science education and communication through improved knowledge of the ocean; and
- To coordinate and strengthen oceanographic efforts in support of those goals by:
- identifying and carrying out partnerships among federal agencies, academia, industry, and other members of the oceanographic scientific community in the areas of data, resources, education, and communication, and
- reporting annually to Congress on the Program.
The National Oceanographic Partnership Program Office (NOPPO) was set up to assist in the management of NOPP and provide daily administrative support. Using competitive procedures, a contract for the operation of the NOPPO was awarded to the Consortium for Ocean Leadership in 2008.
Strategic plan
The NOPP Ten-Year Strategic Plan [1] identifies four goals, to be completed in 2014, on which NOPP has already taken significant action:
- Achieve and Sustain an Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)
- Promote Lifelong Ocean Education
- Modernize Ocean Infrastructure and Enhance Technology Development
- Foster Interagency Partnerships to Increase and Apply Scientific Knowledge
Purpose
NOPP brings together the public and private sectors to support large, comprehensive projects to promote sharing of resources, and to foster community-wide innovative advances in ocean science, technology, and education. On average, 11 new projects are started each year. Since 1997, NOPP has invested more than $310 million to support 132 research and education projects involving more than 250 public and private institutions. A comparable amount of in-kind support has been committed by the research and education community.
Ocean Leadership Logo
NOPP promotes lifelong education. It sponsors the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, a national academic competition for high school students conducted by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. The NOSB competition is intended to increase knowledge of the oceans on the part of high school students, their teachers, and communities.
Modernizing ocean infrastructure is another high priority of NOPP. The federal oceanographic research and survey fleet consists of sophisticated research vessels that permit scientists to survey and conduct research on the complex ocean, seafloor, and sub-sea floor environment. The fleet capacity and capabilities must be evaluated to see how they can support agency missions and national priorities. In 2007, NOPP published and widely disseminated the Federal Oceanographic Fleet Status Report.
Governance
NOPP Ocean GovernanceNOPP is governed by the National Ocean Research Leadership Council (NORLC), whose activities and functions merged in April 2007 with the Interagency Committee for Ocean Science and Resource Management Integration (ICOSRMI), which was established in December 2004 upon release of the Ocean Action Plan.
The ICOSRMI, which consists of federal agencies involved in conducting or funding ocean research, developing ocean research policy, and managing ocean-related resources, is charged with establishing NOPP policies and implementing its procedures, including projecting selection, fund allocation, and maintaining four different bureaus:
- The Interagency Working Group on Ocean Partnerships (IWG-OP) plans and implements partnerships among federal agencies relating to research opportunities, such as publication of annual broad-agency funding announcements and managing of research awards. Using the guidance provided by Charting the Course for Ocean Science in the United States for the Next Decade: An Ocean Research Priorities Plan and Implementation Strategy, the IWG-OP continues to use NOPP as a standing forum for discussion of ideas and priorities within that report.
- The Interagency Working Group on Facilities (IWG-F) reviews and evaluates federal infrastructure regarding facilities, such as ships, necessary to conduct ocean research and observation. This group also evaluates future needs and plans for future investments in ocean-related facilities.
- The Ocean Research and Resources Advisory Panel (ORRAP) was called on in the Ocean Action Plan (OAP) to provide independent advice and guidance to ICOSRMI. Members are individuals from the National Academies, state government, academia, and ocean industries, representing marine science, marine policy, and other related fields, which now specifically include resource management.
- The NOPP Program Office is overseen by the IWG-OP, which speaks on behalf of the ICOSRMI. The NOPP Office serves four main functions to the NOPP: meeting support for NOPP committees, project management, reporting on NOPP annually to Congress, and NOPP outreach.
Funded projects
Overall investment in NOPP-funded activities has increased significantly since the program’s inception in 1997 to more than $310M total. Since FY 1997, NOPP has funded 132 projects, including 21 renewal projects.[citation needed]
Using a peer review process, NOPP identifies and funds the most scientifically and technically meritorious research that clearly demonstrates public-private partnerships in the areas of interest each year.
In FY 2008, 11 research projects were funded on three topics:
- Sensors for Measurement of Biological, Bio-Optical or Chemical Properties of the Ocean
- Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)
- Exploration and Research of Northern Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Natural and Artificial Hard Bottom Habitats with Emphasis on Coral Communities: Reefs, Rigs and Wrecks.
Descriptions of NOPP-funded projects can be found online [2].
Participating agencies
- Executive Office of the President
- Marine Mammal Commission
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- National Science Foundation
- Smithsonian Institution
- United States Arctic Research Commission
- United States Department of Agriculture
- United States Department of Commerce
- United States Department of Defense
- United States Department of Energy
- United States Department of Health and Human Services
- United States Department of Homeland Security
- United States Department of Interior
- United States Department of Justice
- United States Department of State
- United States Department of Transportation
- United States Environmental Protection Agency
See also
- Census of Marine Life
- GOOS
- Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
- Integrated Ocean Observing System
- Joint Ocean Commission Initiative
- National Ocean Sciences Bowl
External links
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