1998 Year of the Ocean Marine Science, Technology, and Research 



THE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM AND U.S. OCEANS POLICY 



The value of partnerships is defined in terms of the guiding principles outlined above. 

 Additionally, the partnerships proposed by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program 

 (NOPP) serve as particularly efficient mechanisms for overcoming hurdles, some of which are 

 unique to the oceanographic community. Some of these singular hurdles are: 



Funding mechanisms. Ocean science is primarily supported through grants and contracts from 

 government agencies. The lack of a long term foundation of support (e.g., "hard money" for 

 faculty positions at research universities) dictates that mechanisms (including leveraging the 

 infrastructure investments in oceanographic research and development in the military and 

 industrial sectors) are needed to maintain the long term continuity of the community. U.S. federal 

 funding for basic research in ocean sciences effectively has been halved (by virtue of remaining 

 flat) for nearly two decades, while the total federal support of basic research has nearly doubled. 

 Given the broadening mission for the ocean sciences community, this situation is increasingly 

 out of balance. The dollars are shrinking while the research requirements grow. 



Multiple Committee Jurisdiction in Congress. Primary funding for the conduct of basic 

 research in the ocean sciences emanates from the Congress of the United States. Nine federal 

 agencies seek funding from Congress for ocean science and technology associated with their 

 missions. But, to address funding needs of each of these nine agencies, over 40 committees and 

 subcommittees of the House and Senate are involved in carrying out their relevant authorization 

 and appropriation responsibilities. As a result, unless there is some clear integrating or cross- 

 cutting process for Capitol Hill to deal with the broad national policy and programmatic issues 

 surrounding ocean science and technology, any partnership arrangement limited solely to certain 

 stakeholders would lack substance. Better horizontal integration of broad ocean science and 

 technology policy and programs across the many federal agencies, is necessary if this nation is to 

 maintain its lead in this critically important area and do so at minimum cost. This is particularly 

 true during the post Cold War reappraisal of national priorities under more constrained budgets. 

 This hurdle to the efforts in ocean science and technology needs to be addressed by the 

 legislative and executive branches in cooperation. 



Security concerns and classified applications. The oceans are the operating environment for 

 national defense. In fact, it has been argued that the seas of the world are this country's moats. 

 Any research in oceanography is immediately relevant to the operations of the U.S. Navy and 

 may have implications for national security. As such, there will always be an awareness of the 

 contribution of research and education in oceanography to national security concerns and vice 

 versa. 



Management and ownership of resources. The oceanographic researcher depends heavily on a 

 major capital investment that has been made by industry and agencies within the federal 

 government in terms of research platforms, equipment, laboratories, and general infrastructure. 

 The management of these resources, and their ownership, is dispersed among public and private 

 entities. Optimal use and upgrade of these facilities requires a delicate coordination of missions. 



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