JM Levy 5/06

OCO Reporting Requirements

“How to Win Fundsand

Influence Program Managers”

Joel LevyNOAA Office of Climate Observation

NOAA Office of Climate ObservationAnnual Program Review Meeting

May 11, 2006

JM Levy 5/06

A Few Words About ….

•Project Summary

•FY 2006 Annual Progress Report

•FY 2007 Work Statement and Budget

•FY 2007 Add Tasks

JM Levy 5/06

First Priority: Understand the Context of the Reporting Requirements

… i.e.

Understand the NOAA budget process

JM Levy 5/06

This meeting was called in order to discuss the meat. It has been pointed out that there is no meat. A motion has been made to fight over the bones.

Johnson

“Hey, what aboutship time for

RepeatHydrography??”

JM Levy 5/06

Second Priority: Understand the Exercise

… i.e. …

1.What do OCO program managers need?

2.Why do we need it?

JM Levy 5/06

What do Program Managers Provide?

• Develop program requirementso GCOS plans (international covering fire)

o CCSP plans/priorities (national covering fire)

o NOAA plans/priorities (where rubber meets road)

• Procure fundingo Washingtonian politics

o NOAA bureaucracy

• Allocate fundingo Apples v. oranges

• Administer funding o Negotiate the obstacle course

JM Levy 5/06

•Scientific context for ocean observations

•Technical knowledge of

o What we measure

o How we measure it

o Why the measurements matter

•Detailed understanding of budget requirements

What do Program Managers Need from You?

Reports: Acuity and readability are everything!

JM Levy 5/06

Why do Program Managers Need Reports from You?

… to fight for the bones!

Observation: The other guys fight very hard for the bones

Implication: We have to fight smarter

We need enough insight to map resources to current (scientific and political) funding drivers who gets $s and why

Also …

JM Levy 5/06

Project SummaryNew use for an existing submission

•To be posted on the web

•Possibly to be featured in OCO

Annual Report

•One-time task per project

(update periodically)

•Who, what, why, where, when

•Scientific American level Audience includes generalists

& public

This is our public face!

JM Levy 5/06

The Annual Report RequirementsCurrent Thinking

•FY 2006 Annual Progress Report

What you did last year

•FY 2007 Work Statement and Budget

What you will do next year

•FY 2007 Proposed “Add Tasks” Pre-proposals for newly funded

tasksStand-alone documents:• We use them separately

• Independently revisable

• OK to cross-reference

JM Levy 5/06

Annual Progress Report

•New guidelines and format• Brief scientific context (to make it

“stand-alone”) Why you did it

• Tasks accomplished (report on “deliverables”)

What you did• Scientific Findings

Why it matters• Appendix - all the administrative “stuff”

goes here Boiler plate: linkages, relationship

to program plan, etc. Updates: publications, community

service, statistics, etc.

Do NOT merge with • Next year’s work

statement/budget• Add tasks

JM Levy 5/06

Work Statement and Budget

•Work Statement Guidelines• Narrative on scientific or technical

challenge addressed by project Rationale Concise (e.g., 2-3 pages?)

• Description of proposed tasks for FY 2007

Detail, detail, detail - no broad generalizations!

List of deliverables - basis for next year’s annual progress report

•Budget Guidelines• Detailed breakouts - do not lump sums

NSF review quality• Detailed budget justifications

Personnel - why we need each person Equipment - details Travel - detailed justification

JM Levy 5/06

Travel Budgets

….

Personnel Jones $20,000 Smith $10,000 …. ….

……….

Overtime $23,125Travel $40,000Supplies $12,000….….

Justification….… $5K/person ….

Indefensible!

Ideal!

•Give best estimate•We know it will change

JM Levy 5/06

Add TasksPretty Much Unchanged

Scope

• Somewhere between a Letter of Intent and a Pre-Proposal (1-3 pages)

• Adequate detail to be evaluated by an ad-hoc panel

• Lumped budget

• Anticipate request for expanded detail later

JM Levy 5/06

OCO Annual Report

• State of the Ocean• Expanded BAMS “State of Climate”

report• For what audience for what purpose?• Repackage separately?

• Project Reports• Project Summaries• Progress Reports

• User Community• Satellites• Models

• Medium• Print• Electronic