The Strategic Research Plan, which was prepared by the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification (IWG-OA) under the NSTC Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology, outlines what research and information dissemination efforts the Federal government should undertake to guide its response to ocean acidification (OA). Federal agency members of the IWG-OA work to align agency activities with the research activities outlined in the Strategic Research Plan and achieve complementarity among agencies, with the aim of meeting all of the goals of the Strategic Research Plan. To aid this process, the IWG-OA developed this informal Implementation Plan for the Strategic Research Plan.
This document has three primary objectives:
- identify the needs and activities described in the Strategic Research Plan that are currently being addressed by Federal agencies;
- coordinate future Federal activities that are guided by and align with the goals of the Strategic Research Plan; and
- communicate Federal actions on ocean acidification to the public. Implementation of the Strategic Research Plan will be an ongoing, long-term, iterative process to ensure that Federal ocean acidification activities address goals outlined in the Strategic Research Plan. In this ongoing work, the IWG-OA will be vigilant about identifying parts of the Strategic Research Plan not currently being addressed and, when gaps exist, Federal agency members of the IWG-OA will work to address the needs that fulfill their mission.