Information Management 



Collecting Management information 



The Council has given explicit recognition to the four kinds of marine 

 data and infonnation mentioned earlier. As a next step, the Council con- 

 sidered the need for accessible, comprehensive, definitive, and fully descrip- 

 tive information about current research activities in the marine sciences. 

 Program planners and managers in all sectors — Federal, State, academic, 

 and private — require this information to identify gaps in research and 

 development and to prevent inadvertent duplication of effort. Research 

 proposal evaluation teams need to know how an intended project relates to 

 others in the same area. For the individual scientist, rapid and compre- 

 hensive access to background information about ongoing activities can stim- 

 ulate the selection and orientation of new projects. 



To strengthen this element of information management, the Council 

 requested the Science Information Exchange (SIE) to undertake continu- 

 ous collection and dissemination of information about current unclassified 

 research activities in the marine sciences as part of its primary mission. 

 All Federal agencies and 350 non-Federal organizations with marine science 

 programs were asked to review procedures for promptly submitting sum- 

 maries of current projects to SIE. Also SIE was awarded a Council contract 

 to prepare a catalog of about 2,500 current marine science projects to be 

 released in the near future. 



Meanwhile, the Council staff continued its role as the focal point for 

 collecting and analyzing program and budget data concerning Federal 

 research programs and for gathering data on the total national effort. These 

 activities are reflected in the budget tables presented throughout this Report. 

 Also, the individual agencies. Council staff, and Council Committees have 

 expanded efforts to collect and analyze statistical information bearing on 

 uses of the sea. 



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