• It must be scientifically sound; 



• It must address a problem which relates to the overall goal of 

 acquiring the understanding needed to better utilize the oceans 

 and their resources, and which falls within one of the four IDOE 

 program areas; 



• It must not duplicate programs that arc the responsibility of a 

 Federal mission agency or which are actively pursued by some 

 other segment of the oceanographic community, either govern- 

 ment or private; 



• It must attack this problem in an Integrated, comprehensive 

 manner, and be built of components which in the aggregate 

 promise to provide a broader insight Into phenomena, processes 

 and relationships than presently exists. 



Very often, but not always, projects meeting these criteria have been 

 expensive (on the order of $0.5 to $3.0 million per year), long-term 

 (four to ten years), and multidlscipllnary, Involving scientists and facili- 

 ties of se\'eral Institutions Including some In other nations. Initially an 

 efTort was made to support research carried out by other government 

 agencies and by industry, as well as In universities, but in recent years 

 virtually the entire effort has been carried out by academic oceanographic 

 Institutions. 



There Is no rigid system for initiation, selection and management of 

 IDOE projects. Each is dealt with in an ad hoc manner depending on 

 the nature of the problem addressed and the scientific approach adopted. 

 However certain common features are apparent, and to the extent that 

 there is a "typical" approach, it is essentially this: 



The Ideas for IDOE projects emerge from the scientific community, 

 not from the National Science Foundation. Typically, a small group of 

 Individual scientists make informal contact with the IDOE Office, sug- 

 gesting a certain topic and Identifying, in broad general terms, various 

 aspects of the jDroblem and methods of attack. If the subject seems 

 promising, this will be followed by an Informal and then a formal pro- 

 posal which may ultimately result In a planning grant on the order of 

 some tens of thousands of dollars. Actl\itles imder this planning grant 

 may Include a literature search and, generally, a workshop, to which a 

 substantial number of scientists in rc^lcvant specialties are Invited. The 

 workshop produces a report which analyzes the nature of the problem, 

 assesses Its Importance and relevance to ocean utilization, Identifies the 

 extent to which a scientific and technological capability for attacking it 

 exists, and suggests possible research strategies. On the basis of this 

 report, a scientific planning committee of five to ten scientists may be 

 selected and charged with formulating a project proposal. This prelimin- 

 ary process may take about a year. 



40 



