international activities

1) Leadership Support, Policy, Management and Coordination

OAR/IA advises NOAA and its Research leadership on international science policy, strategies, programs and issues in support of U.S. foreign policy and corporate science priorities, participates in NOAA International Affairs Council (IAC) meetings and its Working Groups, meets weekly with the NOAA Director for International Affairs, and responds to IAC data and information calls. OAR/IA staffs and accompanies NOAA and OAR leadership to domestic and overseas international meetings and events, holds weekly staff meetings, and participates in weekly OAR leadership staff meetings.

2) Bilateral Cooperation

OAR/IA provides executive and management oversight for NOAA on seven formal agreements with:

• Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO),
• China’s State Oceanic Administration (SOA),
• The French Research Institute for Exploration of the Sea (Ifremer),
• Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF),
• India’s Ministry of Earth Science (MoES),
• The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) 

The U.S. chairperson for these bilaterals is the OAR Assistant Administrator. OAR/IA Program Analysts carry out U.S. Executive Secretarial functions, including staffing on NOAA-wide strategic planning, project coordination, and implementation of joint activities.

OAR/IA supports and coordinates, as needed, Joint Commission Meetings (JCM) on the corresponding government-to-government science and technology agreements, which are led by the Department of State (DOS) and/or the Office for Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on behalf of the United States. In addition, OAR/IA manages program activities involving ocean-climate, ocean, and coastal observations; aquaculture; and Sea Grant International (SGI). OAR/IA oversees and administers corresponding project funds under the NOAA Joint Program Agreement (JPA) with South Korea, and staffs OAR for the NOAA-Environment Canada MOU.

3) Multi-National Cooperation

OAR/IA staff supports the United States representative for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) for both annual domestic and international meetings, as well as information requests during the year.

4) Strategic Partnerships

OAR/IA responds to NOAA and OAR science priorities (Ocean Acidification, Ship-time, Arctic/Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Environmental Modeling and Weather Research, etc.) and seeks, develops, and leverages new international partnerships that advance the interests of NOAA’s research. These efforts could entail developing a new strategic partnership with a foreign ministry or agency that NOAA does not have a formal agreement with or has had limited interaction with in the past.

Much of NOAA’s ongoing international science and technology enterprise is driven by gaining access to foreign data, technology, expertise, geographic locations, or engaging in cost-sharing opportunities on large-scale projects of mutual interest. These same drivers apply to NOAA’s new and emerging science priorities which require new linkages and relationships with foreign counterparts.

5) Administration and Operational Support

OAR/IA processes all foreign travel packages for the line office, including all country clearance cables, passport and visa requests, foreign national J1 visa requests, and Marine Scientific Research (MSR) requests. It also responds to external data calls and information requests from DOS, OSTP, and other agencies on international science and resource issues. It staffs OAR laboratories and programs on international issues and process requests for international field campaigns, research programs and operations, coordinates and manages all international executive correspondence to be signed by the AA and DAAs, oversees budget planning, formulation and execution for the office.

INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES STAFF LISTING & DUTIES