[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 2904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-704]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket Number: 080108032-8033-01]


Science Advisory Board; The Preliminary Report of the NOAA 
Science Advisory Board, Extension, Outreach and Education Working Group

AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce 
(DOC).

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: NOAA Research (OAR) publishes this notice on behalf of the 
NOAA Science Advisory Board (SAB) to announce the availability of the 
preliminary report of the SAB Extension, Outreach, and Education 
Working Group's (here called the EOEWG) external review of NOAA's 
activities in extension, outreach and education activities for public 
comment. The preliminary report of the EOEWG has been prepared pursuant 
to the request initiated by the NOAA Science Advisory Board, and 
approved by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, 
for an external panel of experts to conduct a review of NOAA's 
extension, outreach and education programs and provide advice to NOAA 
on ways to strengthen, coordinate, organize and improve its extension, 
outreach and education activities to fully engage its constituents.

DATES: Comments on this preliminary report must be received by 5 p.m. 
EDT on February 15, 2008.

ADDRESSES: The Preliminary Report of the EOEWG will be available on the 
NOAA Science Advisory Board Web site at http://www.sab.noaa.gov/Reports/EOEWG.
    The public is encouraged to submit comments electronically to 
[email protected]. For individuals who do not have access to 
the Internet, comments may be submitted in writing to: NOAA Science 
Advisory Board (SAB) c/o Dr. Cynthia Decker, 1315 East-West Highway-R/
SAB, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Cynthia Decker, Executive 
Director, Science Advisory Board, NOAA, 1315 East-West Highway-R/SAB, 
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. (Phone: 301-734-1156, Fax: 301-734-1459, 
E-mail: [email protected]) during normal business hours of 9 a.m. 
to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, or visit the NOAA SAB 
Web site at http://www.sab.noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The preliminary report of the EOEWG has been 
drafted pursuant to the request initiated by the NOAA Science Advisory 
Board and approved by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and 
Atmosphere to conduct an external review of NOAA's extension, outreach 
and education activities. This report was prepared in response to the 
charge to the working group to explore opportunities to enhance the 
impact of NOAA's extension, outreach and education activities with its 
constituents, including, but not limited to, the following:
    1. Define NOAA's purpose and unique role in extension, outreach, 
and education.
    2. Identify opportunities at different levels of geographic 
granularity (e.g., local, state, regional, national, and 
international).
    3. Identify opportunities for NOAA's research enterprise to better 
connect with constituencies through extension, outreach, and education.
    4. Review the legislative authorities of NOAA in extension, 
outreach, and education and the opportunities to expand these 
authorities.
    5. Explore the communication paths between NOAA and its 
constituents with the goal to improve channels and enhance processes.
    6. Cite best management practices and examples that could be 
broadly utilized within NOAA.
    7. Review training opportunities and funding support for NOAA 
programs and staff involved in extension, outreach, and education.
    The SAB is chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and 
is the only Federal Advisory Committee with the responsibility to 
advise the Under Secretary on long- and short-term strategies for 
research, education, and application of science to resource management 
and environmental assessment and prediction.
    NOAA welcomes all comments on the content of the preliminary 
report. We also request comments on any inconsistencies perceived 
within the report, and possible omissions of important topics or 
issues. This preliminary report is being issued for comment only and is 
not intended for interim use. For any shortcoming noted within the 
preliminary report, please propose specific remedies. Suggested changes 
will be incorporated where appropriate, and a final report will be 
posted on the SAB Web site.
    Please follow these instructions for preparing and submitting 
comments. Using the format guidance described below will facilitate the 
processing of comments and assure that all comments are appropriately 
considered. Overview comments should be provided first and should be 
numbered. Comments that are specific to particular pages, paragraphs or 
lines of the section should follow any overview comments and should 
identify the page and line numbers to which they apply. Please number 
each page of your comments.

    Dated: January 10, 2008.
Mark E. Brown,
Chief Financial Officer, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
 [FR Doc. E8-704 Filed 1-15-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-KD-P