| Abbreviation | NOPP |
|---|---|
| Motto | Promoting Partnerships for the Future of Oceanography |
| Formation | 1997 |
| Purpose/focus | Oceanography research, funding, education |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Program Coordinator | Leigh Zimmermann |
| Website | nopp.org |
| Remarks | Host organization is the Consortium for Ocean Leadership |
The National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) is an innovative collaboration of U.S. federal government agencies that fund research partnerships in academia, government, industry, and non-governmental organizations.
NOPP adds integrative value to the individual oceanography (ocean science), resource management and ocean education missions of the federal agencies and their partners in common pursuit of the wise use of the oceans and the maintenance of their health.
Contents |
NOPP was established by the United States Congress Public Law 104-201 in Fiscal Year 1997 for two general purposes:
The National Oceanographic Partnership Program Office (NOPPO) was set up to assist in the management of NOPP and provide daily administrative support. Using competitive procedures, a contract for the operation of the NOPPO was awarded to the Consortium for Ocean Leadership in 2008.
The NOPP Ten-Year Strategic Plan [1] identifies four goals, to be completed in 2014, on which NOPP has already taken significant action:
NOPP brings together the public and private sectors to support large, comprehensive projects to promote sharing of resources, and to foster community-wide innovative advances in ocean science, technology, and education. On average, 11 new projects are started each year. Since 1997, NOPP has invested more than $310 million to support 132 research and education projects involving more than 250 public and private institutions. A comparable amount of in-kind support has been committed by the research and education community.
NOPP promotes lifelong education. It sponsors the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, a national academic competition for high school students conducted by the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. The NOSB competition is intended to increase knowledge of the oceans on the part of high school students, their teachers, and communities.
Modernizing ocean infrastructure is another high priority of NOPP. The federal oceanographic research and survey fleet consists of sophisticated research vessels that permit scientists to survey and conduct research on the complex ocean, seafloor, and sub-sea floor environment. The fleet capacity and capabilities must be evaluated to see how they can support agency missions and national priorities. In 2007, NOPP published and widely disseminated the Federal Oceanographic Fleet Status Report.
NOPP is governed by the National Ocean Research Leadership Council (NORLC), whose activities and functions merged in April 2007 with the Interagency Committee for Ocean Science and Resource Management Integration (ICOSRMI), which was established in December 2004 upon release of the Ocean Action Plan.
The ICOSRMI, which consists of federal agencies involved in conducting or funding ocean research, developing ocean research policy, and managing ocean-related resources, is charged with establishing NOPP policies and implementing its procedures, including projecting selection, fund allocation, and maintaining four different bureaus:
Overall investment in NOPP-funded activities has increased significantly since the program’s inception in 1997 to more than $310M total. Since FY 1997, NOPP has funded 132 projects, including 21 renewal projects.
Using a peer review process, NOPP identifies and funds the most scientifically and technically meritorious research that clearly demonstrates public-private partnerships in the areas of interest each year.
In FY 2008, 11 research projects were funded on three topics:
Descriptions of NOPP-funded projects can be found online [2].