Next Generation Strategic Plan
This Plan represents our assessment of the highest priority opportunities for NOAA to contribute substantially to the advancement of society. The availability and quality of fresh water, the exposure of people and communities to high impact weather, stresses of urbanization of the coasts, the exploitation of ocean and coastal resources, and above all the pervasive effects of climate change on society and the environment —- these are the central challenges we must face if we are to improve human welfare and sustain the ecosystems upon which we depend. These are the challenges that define NOAA’s strategic goals. Through the concerted efforts of NOAA and many other organizations, we can navigate our way toward a future where people, communities, and ecosystems prosper and are resilient in the face of change.
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Mission The foundation of NOAA’s long-standing record of scientific, technical, and organizational excellence is its people. NOAA’s diverse functions require an equally diverse set of skills and constantly evolving abilities in its workforce. Also underlying NOAA’s continued success is its unique infrastructure. NOAA’s core mission functions require satellite read more… |
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Vision Earth’s ecosystems support people, communities, and economies. Our own human health, prosperity, and well-being depend upon the health and resilience of natural and social ecosystems. Managing this interdependence requires timely and usable scientific information to make decisions read more… |
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Goals Ocean ecosystems provide many benefits to humans. Yet our marine, coastal, and Great Lakes environments are already stressed by human uses. Habitat changes have depleted fish and shellfish stocks, put more species at-risk, and reduced biodiversity. Ecosystem declines directly impact human health and well-being read more… |
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Objectives NOAA’s vision centers on a holistic understanding of the interdependencies between human health and prosperity, and the intricacies of the Earth system. Achieving this level of understanding presents an overarching, long-term scientific and technical challenge to NOAA: to develop and apply holistic, integrated Earth system approaches read more… |
NGSP (pdf)
