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Implementation
Strategy
Addressing the national ocean research priorities requires a nationwide effort. The involvement
of end users of scientific information, including resource managers, public
policy-makers, and individual citizens, will enhance the impact and value of research
efforts. Given the significant investment state and local entities make in collecting and
disseminating environmental data and supporting research, and the emerging role of
private foundations in supporting ocean science, federal efforts represent a key, but not
exclusive, element of the national research effort. A well-planned and robust federal effort
will provide leadership, focused initiatives, and resources against which non-federal efforts
can be better leveraged.
The implementation strategy described in this section is a set of operational principles
and conceptual guidelines developed by the federal agencies (the JSOST) to address the
national ocean research priorities. This section lays out the characteristics of implementation,
the roles of various sectors, mechanisms for collaboration, the need for an infrastructure
assessment, mechanisms for research translation, strategies for assessment and
evaluation, and mechanisms for budget and plan updates. No one group or sector, including
the federal agencies, is expected to address the priorities (near- and long-term) alone;
thus, the efforts will reflect differing levels of investment from different sectors, depending
on agency missions and sector interests and needs.
This section provides direction to ensure the ocean research priorities are successfully
addressed; as such, it outlines an implementation strategy, not a detailed implementation
plan. This section does not stipulate specific federal-agency actions or budgets, provide
timelines for activities, or mandate how other sectors should respond to the research priorities
independent of federal collaboration. Those activities—by virtue of their dynamic
nature—are best defined in specific program and project plans. This strategy also leaves
open the possibility that dialogue with non-federal partners will play a role in shaping
detailed implementation plans intended to address specific research priorities. Applying
this implementation strategy will lay the foundation for the multi-tier and multi-sector
collaboration that is needed to ensure the nation’s ability to make progress toward achieving
the vision articulated by the USCOP and the Ocean Action Plan (OAP).
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