118 EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY 



previous testimony, advisory panels address themselves to inter- 

 agency problems pertaining to individual oceanographic subject areas: 

 Research, survey, instrumentation and facilities, ship construction, 

 and manpower and training. Problems involving more than one of 

 these areas are normally handled by joint meetings of panels. 



Occasionally problems arise which cut across many individual panel 

 structures. On these few occasions the panel chairmen are called 

 together with such other representatives of Government agencies as 

 would be directly interested in the subject at hand. This usually 

 occurs with respect to preparation of the national oceanographic pro- 

 gram document, both as a recommendation to the Federal Council 

 for Science and Technology, and later in published form as the Presi- 

 dent's program for the particular fiscal year. 



Normal procedure in preparing the program begins with compiling 

 the various panel contributions, and forwarding them with drafts of 

 introductory, concluding, and other such statements as apply to all 

 panel chairmen. They are then convened as a working group to 

 review and modify the program as necessary in preparation for printing. 



Pursuant to the request of the Special Assistant to the President for 

 Science and Technology, the working group will shortly be preparing 

 a 10-year national oceanographic plan. This plan is designed to spell 

 out what we are trying to achieve in the marine sciences during the 

 next 10 years. 



Once the objectives and problems have been denned, the ICO can 

 more effectively achieve cooperative effort among participating 

 agencies. The annual national oceanographic program will be more 

 meaningful if developed in the context of future goals and future 

 agency missions. In addition we will be in far better position to 

 develop our programs in phase, taking into account that all facets of 

 oceanographic activity are closely interrelated and increase in em- 

 phasis on one facet must be achieved by correspondingly stimulating 

 others. 



For example, an increase in research requires an increase in man- 

 power; increased manpower requires expansion of training; facilities 

 and faculties. None of these is developed overnight. The long-range 

 plan may be somewhat similar to the Navy's TENOC plan, but it will 

 be more general in nature, owing to the heterogenous nature of par- 

 ticipating agencies. 



Now if you will permit me to run down some of the miscellaneous 

 activities. The Coordinating Committee on Oceanography is an 

 informally constituted body tenuously affiliated with the ICO. It is 

 composed of middle-management representatives of all of the Wash- 

 ington agencies sponsoring or carrying out oceanographic programs. 

 The purpose of its forum-type meetings is essentially that of com- 

 munications. Each member describes the progress of his programs 

 for the edification of others. 



The meetings are held successively in each of the Government 

 agencies participating in the national oceanographic program. The 

 chairman of the day, selected from the host agency, runs the meeting 

 and carries out any recommendations originated therein. 



The working group has served as a convenient mechanism for 

 extending the boundaries of the ICO to allied programs of nonmember 

 agencies. For instance, the Smithsonian Institution is now repre- 

 sented on the ICO's Panel on Research. This brings into the pro- 



