The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Science Advisory Board's Research and Development Portfolio Review Task Force (PRTF) invites comments on the draft report of the PRTF; the draft report and the instructions for providing comments are available on NOAA's Science Advisory Board website at: http://www.sab.noaa.gov/Reports/prtf.html
Background: At the request of NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, the Science Advisory Board (SAB) undertook in 2012 a review of the Agency's research and development portfolio. The shared goal of the SAB and the Administrator was to ensure that NOAA's investment in R&D continues to contribute to the improvement of economic, employment, national security, nutritional, and life and property in the United States. In response to Dr. Lubchenco's request, the Science Advisory Board appointed the R&D Portfolio Review Task Force (PRTF) and charged it with determining how NOAA's R&D portfolio is related to its strategic mission priorities, and based on this assessment, advising how the R&D enterprise should be structured and managed at NOAA. More specifically, the Task Force was directed to examine how the current state of research at NOAA supported the strategic goals in the Agency's Next Generation Strategic Plan and to recommend management changes where necessary to ensure alignment with those goals. The SAB launched this review because it anticipated that discussions on prioritizing R&D will be necessary across all federal agencies over the next several years. Thus, an overall goal of the review was to ensure that current and future investments in R&D at NOAA are and will be made effectively and productively in support of the top priorities of the Agency. An operating assumption of this effort was that there would be no new funding for R&D in the immediate future. The terms of reference for the review set out two major questions for the PRTF to address: 1. What portfolio of R&D activities does NOAA need to achieve its vision and strategic goals? 2. How should NOAA's R&D portfolio be organized and managed to achieve its vision and strategic goals? How to Submit Comments: Following the instructions for providing comments on the SAB website(http://www.sab.noaa.gov/Reports/prtf.html); please submit comments electronically to noaa.sab.comme...@noaa.gov. The deadline for public comments is 5pm on January 23, 2013 For general information about the PRTF please visit the SAB website: http://www.sab.noaa.gov/Working_Groups/current/SAB%20R&D%20PRTF%20Terms%20of%20Reference%20Final%2005-09-12.pdf
