The PI's request funding to provide partial support for the Interagency Ocean Observation Committee (IOOC) support office hosted at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL). The IOOC Support Office will continue to provide project management by drafting updates to the SOST, drafting responses to SOST taskings, tracking interagency progress related to IOOC projects, developing reports, and coordinating IOOC actions.
Broader Impacts
Interagency collaboration is essential to achieve ocean science and technology priorities and, in particular, for planning and coordination of an ocean observation system. The IOOC support office provides administrative assistance the federal agencies on all of the IOOS planning activities. An IOOC that is able to effectively support these goals will make meaningful contributions to broader societal goals related to climate, maritime operations, natural hazards, national security, public health, ecosystems, and natural resources.
The Interagency Ocean Observation Committee (IOOC) is the Federal interagency body responsible for coordinating ocean observations among it's eleven member agencies. The IOOC was chartered by the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology in response to the requirements of the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observing System Act of 2009. The IOOC Support Office serves as a neutral source for analyses and provides project management for IOOC actions. This award provided program management and meeting support services for the IOOC. In particular, the IOOC Support Office prvoided draft IOOC reports and coordinated actions across the membership. Specific, projects completed under this award include planning for the US IOOS Summit held November 11-14, 2012; completing an independent cost estimate for IOOS, and developing IOOC response plans to the assigned actions under the National Ocean Policy. The US IOOS Summit was a year long effort to identify community input on the direction of US IOOS. The IOOC Support Office under the direction of the IOOC engaged ocean observing partners such as the US IOOS Association (formerly NFRA) and requested community input through the solicitation of white papers, public webinars, and online forums. Members of the public were invited to review and comment on the foundational materials leading into the four day Summit. After the Summit, the draft Report went through a 60 day public review period. The final report of the US IOOS Summit is available at www.iooc.us/summit. Another major recent activity was the completion of the independent cost estimate for IOOS called for in the ICOOS Act of 2009. This cost estimate included the central functional areas for IOOS and the contributing programs which fulfill agency specific mandates while also contributing to IOOS. The final indepedent cost estimate is available at www.iooc.us/about/documents-and-publications/. The IOOC was also tasked with completing numerous actions under the Implementation Plan of the National Ocean Policy. The IOOC Support Office provided coordination and project management for the completion of these actions.
