NAO 212-16A: Policy on NOAA Observing Systems Portfolio Management

Issued 01/13/2025; Effective 01/13/2025; Last Reviewed: 01/13/2025

SECTION 1. PURPOSE.

The purpose of this National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrative
Order (NAO) is to establish policies, responsibilities, and requirements that govern the
management of NOAA’s portfolio of observing systems. NOAA’s vision is to achieve and
sustain an observing systems portfolio that is mission-effective, integrated, adaptable, and
affordable.

NOAA manages observing systems and programs throughout their life cycle, beginning with
identifying the required scientific parameters, developing, acquiring, and deploying instruments
and platforms, monitoring their status and health, and concluding with their retirement.

SECTION 2. SCOPE.

This NAO applies to NOAA's observing portfolio. The portfolio comprises observing systems
and programs managed within NOAA Line Offices, as well as those managed by NOAA's
national, international and commercial partners.

SECTION 3. DEFINITIONS.

1. Integrated Portfolio Management: NOAA takes an integrated approach to managing its observing systems portfolio. This approach involves the alignment of management and investment decisions with NOAA strategies, and impact to NOAA’s mission, the balancing of diverse and disparate demands between programs and projects, the allocation of resources based on NOAA priorities and capacity, and the direction of activities to achieve identified corporate benefits.
2. NOAA Observing Systems Council (NOSC): The NOAA Observing Systems Council is a principal advisory body to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (UNSEC) and the focal point for the agency’s observing systems activities. NOSC coordinates NOAA’s observing systems portfolio and data management activities.
3. Observing System: An integrated system of sensors, platforms, and supporting infrastructure (e.g., communications) that directly or indirectly collects and/or transmits biological, physical, chemical, and/or socioeconomic observations of the Earth or space. Sensing elements may be deployed as individual sensors or in constellations and may include instrumentation or manual observations. Observing system platforms may be mobile or fixed and may be located in atmospheric, freshwater, marine, space, or terrestrial environments. Observing systems rely on downstream data management, including processing, dissemination, and stewardship to exploit the benefit of observations.
4. Observing System Experiments (OSE): Data-denial experiments in which the quantitative value of one or more existing observing systems is determined by studying the impact of the removal (or addition) of the subject observation from the observing system. Such experiments provide critical information for decision makers in planning for modifications to an existing observing system.
5. Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSE): Simulation-based experiments in which the modeled quantitative value of one or more proposed or new observing systems is estimated. OSSEs enable trade-offs in observing system design by assessing the value of different observing system configurations. They are used to prepare for the operational utilization of a new observing system and to inform planning for modifications to an existing observing system.
6. Observing Systems Portfolio: The collection of NOAA observing systems, programs, projects, and/or operations that represent an integrated portfolio. The components of a portfolio are not necessarily interdependent but collectively achieve strategic objectives.
7. User Observation Requirements: The documented and validated user needs for environmental parameters, with their associated attributes. These needs are required to produce specific products and services to meet mission objectives. User observation requirements are captured independently from observing technologies. Therefore, they may be addressed by a variety of current or expected observing capabilities and allow flexibility to be remapped to new technologies as they evolve.
8. Value Chain: The series of NOAA activities and processes performed to provide information for decision making and societal benefit. It involves a progression of steps (from observations, to product and service development, to service delivery) that add value to users. The value chain is a tool to help identify areas for improvement, efficiency, and innovation for the content and means of NOAA's information service delivery.

SECTION 4. POLICY.

1. NOAA will design its observing systems capabilities to meet or exceed the requirements for current and future missions, and to maintain its standing as a preeminent leader in the operational global environmental observation enterprise.
   1. NOAA will develop and sustain a cost effective, impactful, and adaptable portfolio of observing systems that leverages domestic and international partnerships, commercial data buys, and non-traditional sources of data.
   2. NOAA will uphold its commitments to domestic and international partnerships and ensure access to the global observations needed to generate accurate forecasts, warnings, and other services.
   3. NOAA will retain the in-house expertise necessary to support well-managed and integrated observing systems
   4. NOAA will steward data through the data management life cycle (NAO 212-15B) to ensure the data are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) for equitable use across sectors, geographic locations, and diverse users, per data management policies referenced therein.
   5. NOAA will maintain the capability to conduct quantitative observing system assessments that are credible and realistic by coordinating observing system experiments (OSE), observing system simulation experiments (OSSE) and other related observation impact techniques and activities.
2. The NOSC is chaired by the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction (ASEOP), which shall provide strategic recommendations and guidance to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (UNSEC) regarding the prioritization, design, development, acquisition, upgrading, lifecycle, performance monitoring, and retiring of observing systems portfolio components, as well as the acquisition of commercial weather and environmental data and services.
   1. The NOSC vice chairs and principal members are the NOAA Line Office Assistant Administrators, Chief Data Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, or a designee to serve on their behalf.
   2. The NOSC proposes investment priorities for observation-related initiatives and coordinates activities that require cross-NOAA integration.
   3. The NOSC supports NOAA senior leadership with assessments and advice during key points of the annual strategic planning and budget formulation process.
   4. The NOSC ensures coordination and adherence to observing systems and data management policies referenced herein.
   5. The NOSC provides strategic recommendations and guidance to support the integrated management of NOAA’s observing systems portfolio. The NOSC will:
      1. Validate system requirements for observing systems that support more than one Line Office;
      2. Maintain a consolidated list of validated user observation requirements supporting NOAA mission service areas;
      3. Maintain an inventory of observing systems and capabilities meeting NOAA’s mission and user observation requirements;
      4.  Maintain an understanding of value and impact of components of NOAA’s observing system portfolio on NOAA’s mission;
      5. Develop methodologies to prioritize investments and make recommendations on observational priorities and an optimized observing portfolio;
      6. Ensure investments are made throughout the value chain to maximize benefit from observing system investments;
   6. The NOSC maintains subcommittees to develop and approve procedural directives or handbooks relevant to observing system portfolio management and the management of data and information, including commercial data.
   7. The NOSC coordinates with other interagency bodies, such as the United States Group on Earth Observations (USGEO), the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), and the Interagency Council for Advancing Meteorological Services (ICAMS), to raise awareness of NOAA observing capabilities across Federal Agencies, and to work to leverage partner observing capabilities to support NOAA’s mission.

SECTION 5. RESPONSIBILITIES.

1. The ASEOP is responsible for the execution of this NAO in consultation with the NOSC. The ASEOP sets the agenda for NOSC activities and will provide strategic guidance to UNSEC on issues and/or recommend priorities regarding the observing systems portfolio, so that NOAA leadership may make informed management and investment decisions.
2. NOSC is the principal advisory body to UNSEC and the ASEOP and represents the focal point for the agency’s observing systems strategy. The NOSC will provide strategic guidance to Line Offices regarding the observing systems portfolio.
3. Line Office Assistant Administrators (AAs) will consult with NOSC and seek guidance for matters related to observing systems portfolio management. Line Offices propose investments and manage their programs’ observing systems to fulfill mandated missions in accordance with federal planning and budgeting guidelines. AAs participate or delegate authority to personnel to participate in NOSC meetings to represent their Line Office in dialogues and decisions concerning NOAA’s observing systems portfolio.
4. A NOSC subcommittee will provide ongoing holistic assessment and analysis of NOAA’s observing systems portfolio, and specific recommendations to NOSC for changes to the configuration of NOAA’s observing systems and overall portfolio to maximize the benefit to NOAA and its constituents.
5. A NOSC subcommittee, led by the NOAA Chief Data Officer and Line Office Assistant Chief Data Officers, will coordinate NOAA data governance and the development of NOAA’s data management strategy and policy while providing guidance and promoting consistent implementation across NOAA on behalf of NOSC and the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Council.
6. Analytical teams will provide the capabilities required to directly support observing systems portfolio management. This includes:
   1. Maintaining a database of NOAA’s validated user observing needs, the observing capabilities owned or leveraged by NOAA, and the products and services delivered by NOAA to its end users.
   2. Conducting analyses on the value, impacts (including OSEs and OSSEs), and choices of NOAA observing systems to provide insights on the collective health of NOAA’s observing systems portfolio and its impacts on products and services.

SECTION 6. REFERENCES.

1. The following authorities and statutes are related to this NAO and the work of the NOSC:
   1. NAO 212-15B, Management of NOAA Data and Information
   2. NAO 216-105, Transition of Research to Application
   3. National Plan for Civil Earth Observations (2024)
   4. NOAA Acquisition Handbook, as authorized by NAO 208-1
   5. NOAA Business Operations Manual (2016)
   6. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget
   7. The Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017

SECTION 7. EFFECT ON OTHER ISSUANCES.

This Order supersedes NAO 212-16 issued on October 15, 2016, in its entirety. An electronic copy of this Order will be posted in accordance with Chapter 100 of the NOAA Records Control Schedule on the NOAA Office of the Chief Administrative Officer website under the Administrative Programs’ NOAA Administrative Issuances Section. https://www.noaa.gov/organization/administration/noaa-administrative-orders

________________________
Under Secretary of Commerce
for Oceans and Atmosphere

Office of Primary Interest:

• Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction (ASEOP)